Prunasin Biosynthesis by Cell-Free Extracts from Black Cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) Fruits and Leaves Jonathan E. Poulton * and Sun-In Shin Department of Botany, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 Z. Naturforsch. 38 c, 369—374 (1983); received January 3, 1983 Black Cherry, Prunus serotina, Prunasin Biosynthesis, Cyanogenic Glycosides, O-Glucosyltransferase Immature fruits and leaves of black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) accumulate the cyanogenic glucoside prunasin (the /?-glucoside of (/?)-mandelonitrile). Cell-free extracts from these tissues catalysed the stereospecific glucosylation of (/?,S)-mandelonitrile to (/?)-prunasin at rates of 0.2 — 2.0 ^mol/h/mg protein. Uridine diphosphate glucose (ATm = 0.32rnM) acted as glucose donor. The optimum concentration of (/?,S)-mandelonitrile was 20 mM. Highest activity was exhibited at pH 7.0 —8.0 in Tris-phosphate buffer, and no additional cofactors were required. /?- Mercaptoethanol (14.5 mM), provided in the homogenization medium to prevent browning of homogenates, did not stimulate the rate of prunasin production. In addition to (/?)-mandelo- nitrile (100%), significant activity was shown towards mandelamide (21%), benzyl alcohol (15%), mandelic acid (8 %) and benzoic acid (153%), but not towards prunasin. Mandelonitrile glucosyltransferase activity was most stable at - 20 °C in the presence of 10% glycerol. Introduction strongly supports the proposed biosynthetic path­ way shown in Fig. 1, in which mandelonitrile plays The most important cause of cyanide poisoning a central role [5 - 7], among domestic animals is ingestion of such plants As part of our goal to verify this pathway at the as arrow grass ( Triglochin sp.), sorghum ( Sorghum enzymic level, we report here the presence in cell- bicolor), wild black cherry ( Prunus serotina), choke free extracts from immature fruits and young leaves cherry (P. virginiana), and flax ( Linum usitatissi- of black cherry (P. serotina) of a soluble glucosyl­ mum) [1]. These plants contain cyanogenic glyco­ transferase which glucosylates mandelonitrile to sides that, when hydrolysed by enzymes during prunasin. mastication and digestion, yield hydrocyanic acid (HCN). This phenomenon of cyanogenesis is espe­ cially common among members of the Rosaceae, Materials and Methods where several species possess one or more of three Chemicals and chromatographic materials cyanogenic glycosides derived from L-phenylalanine, namely prunasin, sambunigrin, and the disaccharide Uridine diphosphate-D-[U-14C]glucose (330 mCi/ amygdalin. Whereas the catabolism of prunasin mmol) was purchased from New England Nuclear, (the /?-glucoside of (/?)-mandelonitrile) and amyg­ Boston, MA., and diluted with unlabelled UDPG as dalin (the /?-gentiobioside of (/?)-mandelonitrile) required. (/?,5)-Mandelonitrile, prunasin, polyvinyl­ has been extensively studied [2-4], our knowledge polypyrrolidone, almond emulsin, Sigma-Sil-A, and concerning the biosynthesis of these cyanogens is UDPG were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co., currently restricted to in vivo isotopic evidence. St. Louis, MO. All other chemicals were of reagent Nevertheless, the successful incorporation of L-phen­ grade or better. Cellulose and silica gel IB-F thin ylalanine, phenylacetaldoxime, phenylacetonitrile, layer chromatography sheets were obtained from and mandelonitrile into prunasin by cherry laurel J. T. Baker Chemical Co., Phillipsburg, NJ. (P. laurocerasus) and peach (P. persica) shoots Plant materials and analysis of their cyanogen content Abbreviations: UDPG, uridine diphosphate glucose; PVP, polyvinylpolypyrrolidone; PPO, 2,5-diphenyloxazole; Young leaves and immature fruits of black cherry POPOP, 1,4-bis[2-(5-phenyloxazolyl)]benzene. (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) were gathered from Hickory Reprint requests to Dr. J. E. Poulton. Hill Park, Iowa City, during the first 10 weeks 0341-0382/83/0500-0369 $01.30/0 following fertilization of the flowers (May to mid- Dieses Werk wurde im Jahr 2013 vom Verlag Zeitschrift für Naturforschung This work has been digitalized and published in 2013 by Verlag Zeitschrift in Zusammenarbeit mit der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der für Naturforschung in cooperation with the Max Planck Society for the Wissenschaften e.V. digitalisiert und unter folgender Lizenz veröffentlicht: Advancement of Science under a Creative Commons Attribution Creative Commons Namensnennung 4.0 Lizenz. 4.0 International License. 370 J. E. Poulton and Sun-In Shin • Prunasin Biosynthesis in Prunus serotina July 1982). During these studies, the cherries Whatman 3 MM paper with solvent system I was became increasingly difficult to homogenize using a used to analyze reaction products. The product pestle and mortar due to the woodiness of the zones were cut out and counted in a Beckman developing endocarp. To analyze qualitatively the LS-100C scintillation counter using 5 ml of Ander­ cyanogen content, plant material was ground in sons scintillation fluid (0.3% PPO and 0.02% POPOP liquid nitrogen in a mortar and, while still frozen, in xylene-Triton X-l 14 (3:1, by vol.)). added to boiling methanol. After 10 min extraction, the plant debris was removed by filtration. The Chromatographic identification of reaction products filtrate was concentrated by rotary evaporation and Identification of the reaction product of mandelo­ chromatographed alongside authentic samples of nitrile glucosylation was made by co-chromato­ prunasin and amygdalin on Whatman 3 MM paper graphy with an authentic (/?)-prunasin sample on using solvent system I. After thoroughly drying the Whatman 3 MM paper using solvent system I, on paper, the cyanogens were located by the Feigl- cellulose TLC sheets with systems II —V, and on Anger “sandwich” technique [8], employing almond silica gel TLC sheets with systems VI-VII. The emulsin to release HCN. following solvent systems were utilized: (I) /j-buta- nol-acetic acid-H20, 4-1-5, upper phase; (II) n- Enzyme purification propanol-H20, 70-30; (III) methanol-H20, 90-10; All stages were carried out at 4°C. Black cherry (IV) ethyl acetate-acetone-H20, 32-40-8; (V) Aj-buta- tissue (weighing 5.5 g) was homogenized with nol-ethanol-H20, 7-2-2; (VI) chloroform-methanol, 10- 15 ml of buffer I, 0.55 g PVP, and some quartz 5-1; (VII) water-saturated /j-butanol. sand in a mortar. The homogenate was filtered Since these systems fail to resolve (/?)-prunasin through 4 layers of cheesecloth and centrifuged at and (S)-sambunigrin, the reaction product was 12000 x g for 25 min. An aliquot (2.5 ml) of the further identified using gas liquid chromatography. supernatant liquid was chromatographed on a Samples of the reaction products, (7?)-prunasin and Sephadex G-25 column (1.5 x 8.3 cm), which had an (/?)-prunasin/(S)-sambunignn racemic mixture been pre-equilibrated with buffer II. Elution was were dried and treated with Sigma-Sil-A (hexa- carried out with buffer II, and the eluate was methyldisilazane and trimethylchlorosilane in collected for assay of glucosyltransferase activity pyridine). The trimethylsilyl derivatives were re­ and protein content. solved in a nickel column (72 in. x 0.25 in. inside diameter) packed with 3% (w/w) Dexsil 300 on Gas Chrom Q (100 to 200 mesh) and detected by ther­ Buffer solutions mal conductivity. The oven (Hewlett Packard 5710) The following buffer solutions were used: (I) was heated from 200 °C to 250 ° C a t 2 ° o r 4 ° C per 0 .2 m Tris-HCl buffer, pH 8.0, containing 14.5 mM min with a carrier gas flow (helium) of 65 ml per /?-mercaptoethanol; (II) 20 mM Tris-HCl buffer, min. Analysis of radioactive products was under­ pH 8.0. taken using a Packard 894 proportional counter (30-40% efficiency). Glucosyltransferase assay Protein estimation The standard assay mixture for O-glucosyltrans- ferase activity contained 3 nmol (/?,S)-mandelo- The protein content of leaf and cherry extracts nitrile (in 10 |il methanol), 300 nmol uridine diphos- was determined by the Bradford procedure [9], phate-D-[U-14C]glucose (containing 52 nCi), 30 (imol using crystalline bovine serum albumin as standard. Tris-phosphate buffer, pH 7.33, and up to 30 ng protein in a total volume of 0.15 ml. Control reac­ Results and Discussion tion vessels, in which mandelonitrile was omitted, were included where appropriate. After incubation Undoubtedly the best known of all cyanogenic at 30 °C for 20-60 min, the reaction was ter­ glycosides is amygdalin, which, in addition to being minated by heating the reaction mixture at 95 °C the first cyanogen to be isolated and fully character­ for 2 min. Descending paper chromatography on ized [10], was in recent years promoted without J. E. Poulton and Sun-In Shin • Prunasin Biosynthesis in Prunus serotina 371 foundation as an anticancer agent [11]. Amygdalin Cyanogen content of leaves and immature fruits accumulates in the seeds of several rosaceous species, while its monosaccharide derivative pruna­ In general, this study utilized young leaves from sin is found in the vegetative portions of these the first three nodes only. Qualitative analysis plants [12, 13]. These cyanogenic glycosides are showed that these leaves, which were the most apparently responsible for numerous cases of acute active in releasing HCN as judged by the Feigl- cyanide poisoning of man and his livestock follow­ Anger test, contained the cyanogen prunasin as ing the ingestion of seeds of bitter almonds, previously reported [12, 13]. The immature fruits apricots, choke cherries, and leaves of peaches [11]. differed from the leaves in two aspects of cyano- In view