Gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric confirmation of atractyloside in a patient poisoned with Callilepis laureola

The South African traditional remedy Impila (Callilepis laureola) contains the mitochondrial toxin atractyloside. The plant is sold widely and continues to lead to fatalities in patients. We describe, for the first time, a simple GC–MS procedure for the identification of atractyloside, which we have applied to the gastric washing from a poisoned patient and to extracts of Impila tuber.