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HCK 02

Glycosides are classified based on their aglycone types, which include phenols, quinones, terpenes, and steroids, and are widely distributed across the plant kingdom. They can be found in various plant parts, with some being toxic, particularly cyanogenic and cardiac glycosides, although cooking may render them safe. Specific botanical families consistently contain certain glycoside types, such as glucosinolates in Brassicaceae and cyanogenic glycosides in Rosaceae.

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20 views1 page

HCK 02

Glycosides are classified based on their aglycone types, which include phenols, quinones, terpenes, and steroids, and are widely distributed across the plant kingdom. They can be found in various plant parts, with some being toxic, particularly cyanogenic and cardiac glycosides, although cooking may render them safe. Specific botanical families consistently contain certain glycoside types, such as glucosinolates in Brassicaceae and cyanogenic glycosides in Rosaceae.

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60 The Constituents of Medicinal Plants

Classification of glycosides is based on the nature of the aglycone, which


can be any of a wide range of molecular types, including phenols, quinones,
terpenes and steroids. Since glycosides are so heterogeneous in structure they
are not easy to learn as a specific group and are described together here for con-
venience. Most of the aglycone examples given here are also referred to in the
chapters relating to their structural types.

Distribution

Glycoside distribution is widespread throughout the plant kingdom. They occur in


the seeds of pulses, in swollen underground roots or shoots (yams, sweet potatoes),
flowers and leaves. Some are toxic, especially cyanogenic and cardiac glycosides.
Cooking may render them non-toxic. Glycosides are mostly soluble in water and
organic solvents, though the aglycones tend to be somewhat insoluble in water.
Despite the widespread distribution of some glycoside classes we often find
that the same botanical families consistently contain the same aglycone types,
for example:

• Brassicaceae – glucosinolates;
• Rosaceae – cyanogenic glycosides;
• Scrophulariaceae – phenylpropanoid, iridoid, cardiac glycosides;
• Asteraceae – phenylpropanoid, flavonoid glycosides; and
• Polygonaceae – anthraquinone glycosides.

Cyanogenic glycosides
In cyanogenic glycosides the element nitrogen occurs in the form of nitriles (as
a prefix, cyano- means nitrile), functional groups in which nitrogen is bound to
carbon with triple bonds. Structurally they are derived from amino acids. The aro-
matic amino acid L-phenylalanine is the precursor to amygdalin, which retains
the aromatic ring structure, whereas the non-aromatic amino acid, valine, is the
precursor to linamarin, a cyanogesic glycoside with no aromatic ring.

N
O
OH
O
O O
HO OH
OH
HO OH
OH
amygdalin

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