To select sclerotia to be used for strain isolation, water-soluble and water-insoluble alkaloids contents of the sclerotia of ergot fungus were determined. The sclerotia parasitic on the genus Elymus were found to contain greater amount of the alkaloids, up to 1.44%, than the sclerotia from the genus Agropyron. The major portion of the total alkaloid contents was the water-insoluble alkaloids. No correlation was found between the alkaloid contents and the lipid contents of the sclerotia analyzed.