Purine Alkaloids in Camellia assamica var. kucha Chang et Wang

Purine alkaloids in Camellia assamica var. Kucha Chang et Wang were investigated by extraction combined with silica gel column chromatography. Three products were isolated. Product A and C were determined as caffeine and theobromine by TLC and melting point compared with standards. The structure of product B were determined by MS and 1HNMR, the element analysis and melting point for 1,3,7,9 tetramethyluric acid.The purine alkaoids were consisted of caffeine, 1,3,7,9 tetramethyluric acid, theobromine and theophylline in the leaves of C.assamica var. kucha , and their content was 1 932 9%, 1 294 1%, 0 585 5% and 0 012 8% respectively by HPLC.The distribution of new type of purine alkaloids and such high content of tetramethyluric acid in wild tea tree resources is firstly reported.