Microcos paniculata L. (Tiliaceae) is a shrub that is
abundant in secondary forests and also grown as
hedges (Dassanayake and Fosberg, 1991). The tra-
ditional use of its leaves in the control of headlice
prompted our study on its insecticidal activity. The
only reported work on the genus is the isolation of a
piperidine alkaloid, N-methyl-6a-(deca-l ',3 ',5 '-trienyl)-
3b-methoxy-2a-hydroxymethyl-piperidine (micropine)
from M. philippinensis (Aguinaldo and Reed, 1990).
We now report the isolation of an insecticidal alka-
loid N-methyl-6b-(deca-l ',3 ',5 '-trienyl)-3b-methoxy-2b-
methylpiperidine (1) from M. paniculata stem bark.