OVERVIEW OF ALKALOIDS
Alkaloids have a long history in the human use of plant compounds. Many are well known, such as caffeine, nicotine, and morphine. The term alkaloid describes any nitrogen-containing ring compound, which acts like a base. Most alkaloid pathways are not fully understood, but it is known that they are derived from L-amino acids. The following links will take you to examples of each of the following derivative-families of alkaloids.