sinigrin
English
[edit]
Etymology
[edit]From the species name Sinapis nigra + -in.
Noun
[edit]sinigrin (uncountable)
- (organic chemistry, biochemistry) A glycosinolate glycoside found in many brassicas and related plants which is toxic in large quantities and responsible for the pungent bite of horseradish and hot mustard.
- 1993, J. B. Harborne, Introduction to Ecological Biochemistry, 4th edition, page 139:
- When these larvae are transferred to an artificial diet lacking sinigrin, they refuse to eat and, in fact prefer to die rather than accept food lacking what has become an essential attractant.
- 2012, John Feltwell, Large White Butterfly: the biology, biochemistry and physiology of Pieris brassicae (Linnaeus), page 129:
- He also found that pea leaf powder treated with sinigrin gave no significantly different feeding response when compared with the effect of introducing normal leaf powder into the diet.
- 2013, “III.15: Adaptation to the Biotic Environment”, in David A. Baum, Douglas J. Futuyma, Hopi E. Hoekstra, Richard E. Lenski, Allen J. Moore, Cahterine L. Peichel, Dolph Schluter, Michael C. Whitlock, editors, The Princeton Guide to Evolution, page 302:
- In black mustard plants, individuals producing higher levels of the phytochemical sinigrin, a compound that reduces fungal densities in the soil, are good competitors against other species that rely on soil fungi for nutrient acquisition.