From the underground parts of Glehnia littoralis FR. Schmidt ex Miquel (Umbelliferae), 26 compounds, including two new lignan glycosides [giehlinosides A (1) and B (2)], a new neolignan glycoside [glehlinoside C (3)], and a new phenylpropanoid glycoside 14-[beta-D-apiofuranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyloxyl-3-methoxypropiophenone (4)1, were obtained and their structures were determined by a...

Hydroxynitrile lyases (HNLs) from Prunus amygdalus (PaHNL), Sorghum bicolor (SbHNL), Manihot esculenta (MeHNL) and Hevea brasiliensis (HbHNL) are excellent biocatalysts for the preparation of optically active cyanohydrins. (R)as well as (S)-cyanohydrins are obtained in high optical and chemical yields. The synthetic potential of the now easily available optically pure cyanohydrins is demonstrat...

Dhurrin, I ((S)-p-hydroxymandelonitrile-beta-D-glucopyranoside), and taxiphyllin, II (the (R) epimer), occur in the genera Sorghum and Taxus, respectively. Both derive biosynthetically from L-tyrosine via the hydroxylation of p-hydroxyphenylacetonitrile, III. (3R)- and (3S)-L-[3-3H1]tyrosine, prepared by enzymic hydroxylation of the corresponding phenylalanines, were fed separately to shoots fr...

Low molecular weight compounds are typically used by insects and plants for defence against predators. They are often stored as inactive β-glucosides and kept separate from activating β-glucosidases. When the two components are mixed, the β-glucosides are hydrolysed releasing toxic aglucones. Cyanogenic plants contain cyanogenic glucosides and release hydrogen cyanide due to such a well-charact...

Cyanogenic glucosides are present in many plants and their ability to liberate toxic HCN offers an immediate chemical defense response to herbivores and pathogens causing damage of the plant tissue. Countermeasures have evolved to overcome this type of defense and in some cases herbivores and pathogens are able to exploit the presence of cyanogenic glucosides to their own advantage. In plants, ...

Adaptive differentiation between populations is often proposed to be the product of multiple interacting selective pressures, although empirical support for this is scarce. In white clover, populations show adaptive differentiation in frequencies of cyanogenesis, the ability to produce hydrogen cyanide after tissue damage. This polymorphism arises through independently segregating polymorphisms...

The α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of an aqueous extract and compounds from the aerial parts of V. corymbosa was demonstrated with yeast and rat small intestinal α-glucosidases. The aqueous extract inhibited yeast α-glucosidase with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 28.6 μg/mL. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the extract led to the isolation of several compounds, including o...