1-Acetyl-β-carboline (I), 4,8-dimethoxy-1-ethyl-β-carboline (II), and three newalkaloids, 4,8-dimethoxy-1-(2-methoxyethyl)-β-carboline (III), β-carbolin-1-yl 4,8-dimethoxy-β-carbolin-1-yl-ethy1 ketone (IV) and 3-methylcanthin-2,6-dione (V), were isolated from the root of Picrasma quassioides Bennet (Simaroubaceae). The structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic studies and chemical evidence. © 1982, The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan. All rights reserved.