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Twenty-two species of Gaultheria were examined for phenols and phenolic acids obtained by hydrolysis of ethanolic extracts. Most species yielded p -hydroxybenzoic, o -pyrocatechuic, protocatechuic, gentisic, vanillic, p -coumaric, caffeic and ferulic acids. Thirteen species contained derivatives of salicylic acid as well; the glycoside gaultherin was isolated from two of these. The three species of the section Amblyandra yielded catechol as the major phenol in hydrolyzates of ethanolic extracts. Catechol-β- D -glucopyranoside was isolated from one of these. The relationship of these phenolic compounds to one another is discussed.

The isolation and identification of shanorellin (I) (2,6-dimethyl-3-hydroxymethyl-5-hydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone) from the culture medium of an ascomycete, Shanorella spirotricha (Benjamin) is described.

The effects of Δ 9 -THC and Δ 8 -THC on testosterone metabolism by rat liver microsomal enzymes were studied in vitro . Δ 9 -THC (25 μM) inhibit the 5α-reduction of testosterone while Δ 8 -THC has no effect at double the concentration. Both Δ 9 -THC and Δ 8 -THC inhibit the hydroxylation of testosterone. This inhibition is dose dependent over the dose range (25–100 μM) tested. At the same molar concentration, Δ 8 -THC inhibits testosterone hydroxylation to a greater extent than Δ 9 -THC. The kinetic data suggest that the observed inhibition on 5α-reduction and total hydroxylation by the tetrahydrocannabinoids is of the competitive type.

Phylloglossum drummondii, Kunze is a small and relatively rare cryptogam of New Zealand and Australia. It is considered to be a lycopod which is reduced and specialized in the adoption of a geophytic habit1. So far as we know, it has not been examined for any of its organic chemical constituents.