Tissue Distributions of Chlorogenic Acid and of Enzymes Involved in Its Metabolism in Leaves of Sorghum bicolor

Abstract

The tissue distributions of cholorgenic acid, chlorogenic acid oxidase, and three other enzymes involved in the metabolism of this secondary (natural) product have been investigated in leaf-blades of light-grown seedlings of Sorghum bicolor. Cholorogenic acid was found only in epidermal and mesophyll protoplasts isolated from the leaf; 60% of the chlorogenic was contained in the epidermal fraction. Nearly all (90%) of the chlorogenic acid oxidase was found in the mesophyll protoplasts. The bundle-sheath strands, on the other hand, contained no chlorogenic acid and essentially none of the oxidase. Three other enzymes required for the synthesis of chlorogenic acid, but also for other plant products, were found in all three tissue fractions.