This volume of The Alkaloids: Chemistry and Biology might be called 'The Brazilian Volume' since each of the three chapters is compiled and written exclusively by Brazilian authors. This is definitely a reflection of the tremendous current Brazilian interest in the investigation and potentiation of their vast array of natural resources, and particularly of alkaloid-bearing plants. In this volume, the recent progress relating to three groups of alkaloids, the protoberberine alkaloids, the Stemona alkaloids, and the alkaloids of the plant family Hernandiaceae is reviewed.