sentences:  A pKa does not seem to have been recorded for MLA, but it is considered to be a [[weak base]] because it can be readily extracted into [[diethyl ether]] from an aqueous solution at [[pH]] 7.5-8.The [[optical rotation]] of the free base, [α]D was found to be +49° in alcohol.Although commonly referred to as a "diterpenoid" alkaloid, MLA is, strictly speaking, a "nor-"diterpenoid, since its carbon skeleton only contains 19 C atoms, one having been deleted somewhere during its biosynthesis.