The Structure of Sedamine

The infrared absorption spectrum of sedamine, an alkaloid occurring in Sedumacre L., is exactly superposable on that of synthetic 1-methyl-2-(β-hydroxy-β-phenylethyl)-piperidine. The melting points of the bases and their hydrochlorides, alone and in admixture, indicate that sedamine is probably one of the optically active forms of the synthetic diastereomer.