Alkaloid Sequestration by Papaver somniferum Latex

The 1000 x g organelles of Papaver somniferum latex have been shown to accumulate rapidly, large quantities of alkaloids (0.05- 1 mg/mg organelle protein), particularly morphine, thebaine, codeine and papaverine and have been found to exhibit a surprising degree of specificity for the accumulation of these alkaloids. The uptake of alkaloid is independent of temperature and does not show a requirement for ATP 10 ᴍ, Mg 10 ᴍ, or KCl 10 ᴍ. It is unaffected by known ATPase inhibitors (chlormadinone acetate 2.5 × 10 ᴍ, N,N-dicyclohexylcarbo- diimide 5 × 10 ᴍ and sodium vanadate 10 ᴍ) but showed considerable increase in morphine accumulation in the presence of 4-chloromercumbenzoate 5 x 10 ᴍ, while N-methylmaleimide 5 × 10 ᴍ had no effect, and carbonylcyanide 4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenylhydrazone 5 × 10 ᴍ caused a reduction (ca. 30%) of morphine uptake. An acid medium, pH 4.5-5.5, also results in decreased morphine uptake.