Fifteen different tropane alkaloids and derivatives were identified by GC-MS in various plant organs of Atropa baetica. The main root and leaves displayed the largest number of tropane alkaloids, most of which were also present in lateral roots. In contrast, only five of these alkaloids appeared in stem tissue. Quantitative analysis by HPLC showed the presence of the two major tropane alkaloids, atropine and scopolamine, in all the samples studied. Atropine was more abundant, with the highest concentration in the main root (ca. 10.0 mg/g dry wt) followed by leaves (ca. 3.0 mg/g dry wt); scopolamine was present in highest concentration in the main root (0.6 mg/g dry wt) followed by leaves (0.4 mg/g dry wt). The lowest concentrations of these compounds were detected in stem tissue, followed by the lateral roots. The main root constitutes the major tropane alkaloid storage site; moreover, the distribution of these compounds does not appear to be organ dependent. These latter two characteristics are in contrast to closely related Atropa genera.

8 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, 22 references. The authors are grateful to Dr. T. Saenz for kindly providing access to valuable cited references, Prof. S. Lavee for his comments on the manuscript, and Dr. A. Aparicio for providing the mature plant material

This research was funded by the Ministry of Education of the Spanish government (C.I.C.Y.C.) project no. AMB94-1372.

Peer reviewed