Session: Undergraduate Research Posters: Organic Chemistry:

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA’s) are potentially toxic, naturally occurring, secondary products typically found in the plant family Boraginaceae. All known North American Pectocarya and Harpagonella species have been evaluated for PA content using GC-MS and NMR analysis. Efforts this year will focus on comparing previous work performed on P. recurvata, P. penicillata, P. platycarpa, P. heterocarpa, P. anisocarpa, and P. peninsularis with both unpublished results and new PA investigations involving P. setosa, P. linearis, H. arizonica, and H. palmeri. Future investigations will include continued research on the novel PA monoester platycarpine discovered in P. platycarpa.

Dierdre McKay

Appearances