Contribution to the Knowledge of Cyanogenesis in Angiosperms

Abstract

A mixture of cyanogenic principles was isolated from leaves or aerial parts of flowering plants of Lotus krylovii Schischkin et Serg., L. ornithopodioides L., Ornithopus perpusillus L., O. pinnatus (Miller) Druce, Tetragonolobus requienii (Mauri ex Sanguinetti) Sanguinetti and Trifolium nigrescens Viv. and proved to be composed of linamarin and lotaustralin. Both glucosides occur also together in the cyanophoric seeds of Lotus ornithopodioides and in the cyanophoric roots of Tetragonolobus purpureus Moench and T. requienii. Cyanogenesis in Loteae, Coronilleae and Trifolieae, three tribes of Papilionaceae, is briefly surveyed. Attention is paid to the systematic meaning of our results.

Key Word Index

Cyanogenesis - Cyanogenic Glycosides - Linamarin - Lotaustralin - Linamarase - Leguminosae - Papilionaceae - Fabaceae - Lotus - Ornithopus - Tetragonolobus - Trifolium - Chemotaxonomy of Leguminosae