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.
In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. These can be activated by enzyme hydrolysis, which causes the sugar part to be broken off, making the chemical available for use. Many such plant glycosides are used as medications. Several species of Heliconius butterfly are capable of incorporating these plant compounds as a form of chemical defense against predators. In animals and humans, poisons are often bound to sugar molecules as part of their elimination from the body.
The Zygaenidae moths are a family of Lepidoptera. The majority of zygaenids are tropical, but they are nevertheless quite well represented in temperate regions. Some of the 1000 or so species are commonly known as burnet or forester moths, often qualified by the number of spots, although other families also have 'foresters'. They are also sometimes called smoky moths.
Olinia is a genus of small trees and shrubs with 10 species in the family Penaeaceae. The species of Olinia are native to Africa, ranging from west Africa to South Africa. It was previously regarded as the sole genus in the family Oliniaceae, but is now included in the expanded Penaeaceae along with Rhynchocalyx under the APG III system of classification.
The Penaeaceae are a family of evergreen, leathery-leaved shrubs and small trees, native to South Africa. The family has 29 species in 9 genera. The family Penaeaceae was expanded under the APG III system of classification with the inclusion of the genera Olinia and the single species from the genus Rhynchocalyx.
Prunus serotina, commonly called black cherry, wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree or shrub of the genus Prunus. Despite being called black cherry, it is not very closely related to the commonly cultivated cherries such as sweet cherry, sour cherry and Japanese flowering cherries which belong to Prunus subg. Cerasus. Instead, P. serotina belongs to Prunus subg. Padus, a subgenus also including Eurasian bird cherry and chokecherry. The species is widespread and common in North America and South America.
Sambucus canadensis, the American black elderberry, Canada elderberry, or common elderberry, is a species of elderberry native to a large area of North America east of the Rocky Mountains, south to Bolivia. It grows in a variety of conditions including both wet and dry soils, primarily in sunny locations.
Linamarin is a cyanogenic glucoside found in the leaves and roots of plants such as cassava, lima beans, and flax. It is a glucoside of acetone cyanohydrin. Upon exposure to enzymes and gut flora in the human intestine, linamarin and its methylated relative lotaustralin can decompose to the toxic chemical hydrogen cyanide; hence food uses of plants that contain significant quantities of linamarin require extensive preparation and detoxification. Ingested and absorbed linamarin is rapidly excreted in the urine and the glucoside itself does not appear to be acutely toxic. Consumption of cassava products with low levels of linamarin is widespread in the low-land tropics. Ingestion of food prepared from insufficiently processed cassava roots with high linamarin levels has been associated with dietary toxicity, particularly with the upper motor neuron disease known as konzo to the African populations in which it was first described by Trolli and later through the research network initiated by Hans Rosling. However, the toxicity is believed to be induced by ingestion of acetone cyanohydrin, the breakdown product of linamarin. Dietary exposure to linamarin has also been reported as a risk factor in developing glucose intolerance and diabetes, although studies in experimental animals have been inconsistent in reproducing this effect and may indicate that the primary effect is in aggravating existing conditions rather than inducing diabetes on its own.
Lotaustralin is a cyanogenic glucoside found in small amounts in Fabaceae austral trefoil, cassava, lima bean, roseroot and white clover, among other plants. Lotaustralin is the glucoside of methyl ethyl ketone cyanohydrin and is structurally related to linamarin, the acetone cyanohydrin glucoside also found in these plants. Both lotaustralin and linamarin may be hydrolyzed by the enzyme linamarase to form glucose and a precursor to the toxic compound hydrogen cyanide.
In enzymology, a hydroxymandelonitrile glucosyltransferase is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In organic chemistry, mandelonitrile is the nitrile of mandelic acid, or the cyanohydrin derivative of benzaldehyde. Small amounts of mandelonitrile occur in the pits of some fruits.
The molecular formula C14H17NO6 (molar mass: 295.29 g/mol) may refer to:
Areas of forest which grow in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa mostly on south facing slopes in higher rainfall areas, and along the humid coastal areas. Different types of forest can be identified by their species composition which depends mostly on the altitude, latitude and substrate in which they grow. South facing slopes are favourable for the development of forest as they are more shaded, and therefore cooler and retain more moisture than the northern slopes. The extra moisture on the south slopes is not only favoured by forest trees, but also helps to prevent or subdue wildfires. Fires can also be blocked by cliff faces and rocks or boulders on these slopes, and by streams or rivers at the base of the slopes. The coastal regions are conducive to forest formation, because of high rainfall and humidity which are favoured by forest trees and also help to prevent or subdue fires. The rivers of the coastal areas are also broader than further inland, which may often prevent fires from spreading long distances, and fires generally burn uphill and therefore more often away from areas at low altitude.
Olinia ventosa, commonly known as the hard-pear. is a large, evergreen forest tree indigenous to South Africa.
Southern Afrotemperate Forest is a kind of tall, shady, multilayered indigenous South African forest. This is the main forest-type in the south-western part of South Africa, naturally extending from the Cape Peninsula in the west, as far as Port Elizabeth in the east. In this range, it usually occurs in small forest pockets, surrounded by fynbos vegetation.
(R)-prunasin is a cyanogenic glycoside related to amygdalin. Chemically, it is the glucoside of (R)-mandelonitrile.
Tyrosine N-monooxygenase (EC 1.14.13.41, tyrosine N-hydroxylase, CYP79A1) is an enzyme with systematic name L-tyrosine,NADPH:oxygen oxidoreductase (N-hydroxylating). This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction
Isoleucine N-monooxygenase (EC 1.14.13.117, CYP79D3, CYP79D4) is an enzyme with systematic name L-isoleucine,NADPH:oxygen oxidoreductase (N-hydroxylating). This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction
Valine N-monooxygenase (EC 1.14.13.118, CYP79D1, CYP79D2) is an enzyme with systematic name L-valine,NADPH:oxygen oxidoreductase (N-hydroxylating). This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction
This is an alphabetical list of useful timber trees, indigenous and exotic, growing in the Gauteng area of South Africa. These trees range in size up to some 1.5m DBH, such as Cedrus deodara, the Himalayan Cedar. Hobbyists will seek out even small pieces of highly valued timber, such as Buxus macowanii, the South African counterpart of Buxus sempervirens, for turnery or the making of boxes and small items. Despite the wealth of useful woods available in Gauteng, most of the trees, felled or fallen, are dumped or cut into short lengths for fuel. Trees grown in urban or suburban environments are rarely pruned and are consequently often knotty. Timber frequently holds nails, wire and spikes, attesting to a variety of abuse during the lifetime of a tree, and requiring the use of a metal detector by the sawmiller. Garden cuttings and dead leaves are occasionally piled next to trees and burnt, leaving charred scars and inclusions.
