Photohaemolytic activity of chlorophyll degradation products in a mistletoe extract

An aqueous mistletoe extract containing liposome-like vesicles from chloroplast membranes develops a photohaemolytic activity, which is a function of the temperature. This is correlated with the degradation of chlorophyll. The photolytic activity of the chlorophyllides initially produced in the process was detected by haemolysis. The quantification of the chlorophyllides was performed using HPLC. On being exposed to light, the isolated green vesicle fraction bleaches out extremely rapidly in the presence of traces of oxygen. In this process, the photolytic activity also disappears. In crude extracts, this only occurs to a small extent.