A reinvestigation of Strychnos icaja roots has resulted in the isolation, from the EtOAC extract, of one tertiary trisindole alkaloid, named strychnohexamine. Its structure has been investigated by means of spectroscopic data interpretation (UV. IR. HRESIMS. 1D and 2D NMR). This is the first time that a natural trimeric indolomonoterpenic alkaloid has been isolated directly from a plant species. This compound is one of the largest alkaloids ever discovered. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.