The release of hydrogen cyanide from endogenous cyanide-containing compounds in plants is an effective herbivore deterrent. We investigated temporal and spatial variations in cyanogenic glycoside concentration in greenhouse-grown seedlings and 6-year-old plantation trees of Eucalyptus cladocalyx F. Muell., which allocates up to 20% of leaf nitrogen to the cyanogenic glycoside, prunasin. The hig...

Plants have evolved a vast array of defence mechanisms to avoid or minimize damage caused by herbivores and pathogens. The costs and benefits of defences are thought to vary with the availability of resources, herbivore pressure and plant functional traits. We investigated the resource (nitrogen) and growth cost of deploying cyanogenic glycosides in seedlings of Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Myrtaceae...

This study characterised three aspects of cyanogenesis in the late successional tropical rainforest species Prunus turneriana (F.M.Bailey) Kalkman. First, all tissues were found to be highly cyanogenic, containing combinations of the cyanogenic glycosides ( R )-prunasin, ( S )-sambunigrin, and amygdalin. Second, the progeny of a single parent tree varied markedly and continuously in their cyano...

Plants Containing Cyanogenic Glycosides Cyanogenic glycosides are substances present in many plants that can produce highly toxic hydrogen cyanide (HCN) or prussic acid. Specific plant enzymes released when plant cells are damaged when chewed, crushed, wilted, or frozen, hydrolyze the glycosides to cyanide. At least 2000 plant species are known to contain cyanogenic glycosides with the potentia...

Cyanogenesis is the process by which hydrogen cyanide is released from endogenous cyanide containing compounds. Many cyanogenic plants release HCN in sufficient quantities to be toxic and, as a result, tend to be avoided by herbivores. However, there are many exceptions with some herbivores either immune to the cyanogenic status of the plant, or in some cases attracted to cyanogenic plants. Thi...

Cyanogenic Glycosides, Linamarin, Lotaustralin, Biosynthesis, Lepidoptera C -13 NMR data for linamarin and lotaustralin, obtained after feeding of either Zygaena Jilipendulae or Heliconius melpomone (Lepidoptera) with C-13 enriched valine and isoleucine respectively, indicate that intact units of amino acid with loss of the carboxyl group are incorporated during the biosynthesis of these cyanog...

In addition to lotaustralin and linamarin, a novel cyanogenic glycoside, 2-((6-O-(beta-D-apiofuranosyl)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)oxy)-2-met hylbutanenitrile , two novel non-cyanogenic glycosides, (2S)-((6-O-(beta-D-apiofuranosyl)-beta-D- glucopyranosyl)oxy)butane and 2-((6-O-(beta-D-apiofuranosyl)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)oxy)propane, and a simple non-cyanogenic glycoside, ethyl beta-D-glucopyranosid...

The use of hempseed flours in the animal diets may be limited by the presence of antinutritive compounds. The content of phytic acid, condensed tannins, trypsin inhibitors, cyanogenic glycosides and saponins was evaluated in hempseed meal of three italian varieties (dioecious) and three french varieties (monoecious) of Cannabis sativa L. The analysis of variance showed significant differences a...

Cyanogenic glycosides are a large group of secondary metabolites that are widely distributed in the plant kingdom, including many plants that are commonly consumed by humans. The diverse chemical nature of cyanogenic glycosides means that extraction and analysis of individual compounds can be difficult. In addition, degradation can be rapid under appropriate conditions. Amygdalin is one of the ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Plant cyanogenesis is the release of toxic cyanide from endogenous cyanide-containing compounds, typically cyanogenic glycosides. Despite a large body of phytochemical, taxonomic and ecological work on cyanogenic species, little is known of their frequency in natural plant communities. This study aimed to investigate the frequency of cyanogenesis in Australian tropical rainf...