Gardovatine (1), the first Strychnos-Strychnos alkaloid with a C3/C7 cleaved backbone, was isolated from twigs and leaves of Gardneria ovate, together with an analogue divarine (2). The structure was established by extensive spectroscopic methods. Both compounds showed potential cytotoxicities against five human cancer cell lines. CI - Copyright (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.