Researcher Luo Xiao-Dong and his group have accumulated much experience about the extraction, separation and isolation, structural elucidation of monoterpene indole alkaloids in resent years, and discovered a series of novel alkaloids including 4 new skeletons published on Organic Letters in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Two of them were introduced by ‘Hot off the press’ of Natural Products Reports in 2007 and 2008. He, with the collaborators found 2 new monoterpene indole alkaloids with significant anti-tumor activity. The cytotoxic test against certain tumor cells as well as toxicity test (LD50 (iv), MTD) in the animal models (rats and mice) indicated both compounds were more significant than vinblastine-derivatives. Now their mechanism studies and in vivo pharmacodynamic evaluation are ongoing. In past 5 years, they have found total alkaloids in leaves of Alstonia scholaris are the active part. Additionally, they have finished all pre-clinical studies on the fifth class of new chinese drugs. Application of the new drugs has passed the on-site assessment of Food and Drug Administration of Yunnan Province, and was submitted to State Food and Drug Administration and has been formally accepted. In addition, partial results of new drugs research have been published, including 10 papers and 4 patents.

Alstonia scholaris　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　Piernine capsule

 A. yunnanensis　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Melodinus yunnanensis