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A sensitive method for measuring cyanide and cyanogenic glucosides in sand culture and soil
Journal article   Peer reviewed

A sensitive method for measuring cyanide and cyanogenic glucosides in sand culture and soil

A M Dartnall and Richard G Burns
Biology and Fertility of Soils, Vol.5(2), pp.141-147
1987
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00257649
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https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00257649View
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Abstract

cyanogenic glucosides cyanide root exudates rhizosphere linum usitatissimum pteridium aquilinum linamarase
Sensitive methods for measuring cyanide and cyanogenic glucosides in soil and sand culture have been developed. A microdiffusion technique is described which depends on the enzymic conversion of linamarin and lotaustralin to HCN, its release following acidification and incubation, and its detection in NaOH. Conditions for hydrolysis and HCN recovery have been optimised. The cyanide content of a silt loam soil (under non-cyanogenic wheat) was 5.47 nmol cyanide g-1 air-dried soil whilst that in an organic soil under the cyanogenic bracken, Pteridium aqgilinum, was 12.2 nmol g-1. Exudation of cyanogenic glucosides by linseed, Linum usitatissimum, was measured in plant growth tubes containing sand and a nutrient medium. Sterile plants exuded an average of 6.88 nmol glucosides plant-1 week-1 whilst, in contaminated tubes, the level fell to 4.72 nmol. Analysis of plant roots on each sampling occasion showed that 6.88 nmol was, on average, equivalent to 16.15% of the total root content of cyanogenic glucosides. There was a low but positive correlation between fresh weight of plant roots and the level of exuded glucosides. There was no evidence that plant roots produced free HCN. © 1987 Springer-Verlag.

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