REVIEW article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Metabolism and Chemodiversity
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1612132
This article is part of the Research TopicEvolution, Accumulation and Metabolic Engineering of Plant Secondary MetabolitesView all 4 articles
Plant cyanogenic glycosides: From structure to properties and potential applications
Provisionally accepted
- Constantine the Philosopher University, Nitra, Slovakia
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Cyanogenic glycosides (CGs) represent an important group of secondary metabolites predominantly of plant origin, characterized by their ability to release hydrogen cyanide upon enzymatic hydrolysis. These compounds are widely distributed across the plant kingdom, where they play a crucial role in defence against herbivores and pathogens. In recent years, advanced analytical tools have greatly expanded our knowledge of CGs by enabling the identification of less abundant forms. Based on the latest data from published scientific studies, this review presents a comprehensive overview of CGs, with a focus on their structural variability, biosynthetic pathways, ecological functions, and inherent toxicity. Special attention is given to the quantity and distribution of significant CGs in plants, as the available data is often heterogeneous, fragmented, and dispersed across the literature. Furthermore, the review explores emerging evidence regarding the biomedical relevance of selected CGs, including their putative anticancer properties and broader therapeutic potential. The findings presented in this review may be applied in fields such as pharmacology, toxicology, food safety, and plant biotechnology either to enhance CG content for crop protection or, conversely, to eliminate such content in order to improve food safety.
Keywords: cyanogenic glycosides, structure and biosynthesis, biological function, Content and distribution, Toxicity, Anticancer potential
Received: 15 Apr 2025; Accepted: 26 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Piršelová and Jakubčinová. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Beáta Piršelová, Constantine the Philosopher University, Nitra, Slovakia
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