Excretion of miserotoxin and detoxification of the aglycone by grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae).

Abstract

Two species of grasshoppers (Melanoplus bivittatus and M. sanguinipes) tolerated high levels of miserotoxin (3-nitro-1-propyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside) in their diet. Miserotoxin is a causative agent in cattle poisoning when timber milkvetch (Astragalus miser) is consumed. Toxic effects were averted by grasshoppers in part by excretion of the intact glycoside. When the aglycone was administered, detoxification was achieved by two routes: by oxidation of the aglycone to 3-nitropropionic acid which was then conjugated with glycine, and by glucosylation of the aglycone to miserotoxin, in each case followed by excretion.

• Authors: D L Johnson, W Majak, M H Benn
• Journal: Phytochemistry (Phytochemistry) Vol. 58 Issue 5 Pg. 739-42 (Nov 2001) ISSN: 0031-9422 [Print] England
• PMID: 11672738 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Glucosides
• Nitro Compounds
• Propionates
• 7-deoxy-13-dihydroadriamycinone
• miserotoxin
• Doxorubicin
• 3-nitropropionic acid
• Glycine

Topics

• Animals
• Astragalus Plant (chemistry)
• Doxorubicin (analogs & derivatives, metabolism)
• Glucosides (pharmacokinetics)
• Glycine (metabolism)
• Glycosylation
• Grasshoppers (metabolism)
• Inactivation, Metabolic (physiology)
• Nitro Compounds
• Oxidation-Reduction
• Propionates (metabolism)