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| Identifiers | |
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3D model (JSmol) | |
| ChEBI | |
| ChEMBL | |
| ChemSpider | |
PubChem CID | |
| UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |
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| Properties | |
| C8H7NOS | |
| Molar mass | 165.21 g·mol −1 |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). | |
4-Hydroxybenzyl isothiocyanate is a naturally occurring isothiocyanate. It is formed as a degradation product of sinalbin from white mustard and is responsible for the pungent taste of mustard seeds.
4-hydroxybenzyl isothiocyanate occurs as a degradation product of sinalbin or glucosinalbin in white mustard. This compound is broken down as a mustard oil glycoside by myrosinase, releasing the isothiocyanate. The isothiocyanate further decomposes into hydroxybenzyl alcohols with the release of thiocyanates. [1] [2] [3] In the presence of a nitrile-specifier protein, the less toxic 4-hydroxyphenylacetonitrile is formed from the mustard oil glycoside instead. The cabbage butterfly exploits this mechanism to avoid the toxic effects of the isothiocyanate. [2] Similar to other isothiocyanates found in cruciferous vegetables, this compound contributes to the pungent flavor of mustard. [3]
Similar to its natural formation, 4-hydroxybenzyl isothiocyanate can be synthesized by reacting sinalbin with myrosinase. [4]
Wasabi or Japanese horseradish is a plant of the family Brassicaceae, which also includes horseradish and mustard in other genera. The plant is native to Japan, the Russian Far East including Sakhalin, and the Korean Peninsula. It grows naturally along stream beds in mountain river valleys in Japan.
Horseradish is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae. It is a root vegetable, cultivated and used worldwide as a spice and as a condiment. The species is probably native to Southeastern Europe and Western Asia.
In organic chemistry, isothiocyanate is a functional group as found in compounds with the formula R−N=C=S. Isothiocyanates are the more common isomers of thiocyanates, which have the formula R−S−C≡N.
A glucoside is a glycoside that is chemically derived from glucose. Glucosides are common in plants, but rare in animals. Glucose is produced when a glucoside is hydrolysed by purely chemical means, or decomposed by fermentation or enzymes.
Mustard oil can mean either the pressed oil used for cooking, or a pungent essential oil also known as volatile oil of mustard. The essential oil results from grinding mustard seed, mixing the grounds with water, and isolating the resulting volatile oil by distillation. It can also be produced by dry distillation of the seed. Pressed mustard oil is used as cooking oil in some cultures, but sale is restricted in some countries due to high levels of erucic acid. Varieties of mustard seed low in erucic acid have been cultivated.
Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) is a naturally occurring unsaturated isothiocyanate. The colorless oil is responsible for the pungent taste of cruciferous vegetables such as mustard, radish, horseradish, and wasabi. This pungency and the lachrymatory effect of AITC are mediated through the TRPA1 and TRPV1 ion channels. It is slightly soluble in water, but more soluble in most organic solvents.
Glucosinolates are natural components of many pungent plants such as mustard, cabbage, and horseradish. The pungency of those plants is due to mustard oils produced from glucosinolates when the plant material is chewed, cut, or otherwise damaged. These natural chemicals most likely contribute to plant defence against pests and diseases, and impart a characteristic bitter flavor property to cruciferous vegetables.
Sinigrin or allyl glucosinolate is a glucosinolate that belongs to the family of glucosides found in some plants of the family Brassicaceae such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and the seeds of black mustard. Whenever sinigrin-containing plant tissue is crushed or otherwise damaged, the enzyme myrosinase degrades sinigrin to a mustard oil, which is responsible for the pungent taste of mustard and horseradish. Seeds of white mustard, Sinapis alba, give a less pungent mustard because this species contains a different glucosinolate, sinalbin.
Cruciferous vegetables are vegetables of the family Brassicaceae with many genera, species, and cultivars being raised for food production such as cauliflower, cabbage, kale, garden cress, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, mustard plant and similar green leaf vegetables. The family takes its alternative name from the shape of their flowers, whose four petals resemble a cross.
Glucobrassicin is a type of glucosinolate that can be found in almost all cruciferous plants, such as cabbages, broccoli, mustards, and woad. As for other glucosinolates, degradation by the enzyme myrosinase is expected to produce an isothiocyanate, indol-3-ylmethylisothiocyanate. However, this specific isothiocyanate is expected to be highly unstable, and has indeed never been detected. The observed hydrolysis products when isolated glucobrassicin is degraded by myrosinase are indole-3-carbinol and thiocyanate ion, which are envisioned to result from a rapid reaction of the unstable isothiocyanate with water. However, a large number of other reaction products are known, and indole-3-carbinol is not the dominant degradation product when glucosinolate degradation takes place in crushed plant tissue or in intact plants.
Myrosinase is a family of enzymes involved in plant defense against herbivores, specifically the mustard oil bomb. The three-dimensional structure has been elucidated and is available in the PDB.
Sinalbin is a glucosinolate found in the seeds of white mustard, Sinapis alba, and in many wild plant species. In contrast to mustard from black mustard seeds which contain sinigrin, mustard from white mustard seeds has only a weakly pungent taste.
Gluconasturtiin or phenethyl glucosinolate is one of the most widely distributed glucosinolates in the cruciferous vegetables, mainly in the roots, and is probably one of the plant compounds responsible for the natural pest-inhibiting properties of growing crucifers, such as cabbage, mustard or rape, in rotation with other crops. This effect of gluconasturtiin is due to its degradation by the plant enzyme myrosinase into phenethyl isothiocyanate, which is toxic to many organisms.
Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant.
Allyl cyanide is an organic compound with the formula CH2CHCH2CN. Like other small alkyl nitriles, allyl cyanide is colorless and soluble in organic solvents. Allyl cyanide occurs naturally as an antifeedant and is used as a cross-linking agent in some polymers.
Antifeedants are organic compounds produced by plants to repel herbivores through distaste or toxicity. These chemical compounds are typically classified as secondary metabolites in that they are not essential for the metabolism of the plant, but instead confer longevity. Antifeedants exhibit a wide range of activities and chemical structures as biopesticides. Examples include rosin, which inhibits attack on trees, and many alkaloids, which are highly toxic to specific insect species, such as quassinoids against the diamondback moth. Samadera indica also has quassinoids used for insect antifeedant uses.
(R)-prunasin is a cyanogenic glycoside related to amygdalin. Chemically, it is the glucoside of (R)-mandelonitrile.
The mustard oil bomb, formerly known as the glucosinolate–myrosinase complex, is a chemical herbivory defense system found in members of the Brassicaceae. The mustard oil bomb requires the activation of a common plant secondary metabolite, glucosinolate, by an enzyme, myrosinase. The defense complex is typical among plant defenses to herbivory in that the two molecules are stored in different compartments in the leaves of plants until the leaf is torn by an herbivore. The glucosinolate has a β-glucose and a sulfated oxime. The myrosinase removes the β-glucose to form mustard oils that are toxic to herbivores. The defense system was named a "bomb" by Matile, because it like a real bomb is waiting to detonate upon disturbance of the plant tissue.
Glucotropaeolin or benzyl glucosinolate is a glucosinolate found in cruciferous vegetables, particularly garden cress. Upon enzymatic activity, it is transformed into benzyl isothiocyanate, which contributes to the characteristic flavor of these brassicas.
4-Hydroxyphenylacetonitrile is a naturally occurring nitrile.
