A novel product, named ()-hupeol (1), which is regarded as an intermediate in the metabolism of the lupine alkaloids to non-basic constituents, has been isolated from Chinese Maackia hupehensis. Japanese Maackia species (Leguminosae) are a group of plants which are interesting from the viewpoints of chemotaxonomy and biosynthesis because they accumulate unusual lupine alkaloids containing a pyrrolizidine or indolizidine ring such as maackiamine1, tashiromine2 and camoensidine3 together with common lupine alkaloids having a piperidine or quinolizidine ring. In the course of our studies on lupine alkaloids in Maackia plants, we isolated a novel constituent from M. hupehensis native to China. In this paper, we report the chemical characterization of the new constituent, named ()-hupeol (1), and its biogenetic relationship with the typical lupine alkaloid (ÿ)-cytisine (2), which is a main alkaloid (25% of the total base) of this plant.