A new tropane alkaloid as well as a new substitution group, (3-endo,8-anti)-8-methyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]oct-3-yl 4-hydroxy-3,5- dimethoxybenzoate, called pungencine (1), was isolated from the roots of Erythroxylum pungens O. E. Schulz. The structure was elucidated by spectral analyses, including 1H- and 13C-NMR and 2D-NMR techniques (1H,1H-COSY, NOESY, DEPT, HMQC, and HMBC) and HR-ESI-MS. Furthermore, compound 1 was tested for cytotoxicity against several cell lines (Jurkat, HL-60, U937, K562, KG-1, and U266) and was determined not to inhibit cell viability at 10 μm. © 2010 Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta AG.