The isolation of a storage organelle of atractyloside in Callilepis laureola.

A method has been developed for the preparation of protoplasts from both the leaves and tubers of Callilepis laureola, a plant used extensively as a medicament by black people in South Africa. The cellular vacuoles from these protoplasts were isolated and tested for the presence of the nephrotoxic substance, atractyloside, by thin layer chromatography and immunoassay. Both methods indicate that the vacuole of C. laureola is the primary site of storage for atractyloside in the cells of the tuber.