Michellamines are a group of atropisomeric alkaloid which have been found to be HIV viral replication inhibitors in vitro.

[2] Michellamine A and B occur naturally in Ancistrocladus korupensis leaves.

Other chemical substances including alkaloids, tannins, and saponins are found in the roots, leaves, stems, flowers, or bark.

The first one, originally synthesized in 1994, is a retrosynthesis that leads to a biomimetic pathway that uses the construction of naphthalene/isoquinoline bonds before the naphthalene/naphthalene axis.

[3] Michellamines inhibit protein kinase C and virus-induced cellular fusion.