Abstract
THE relationships of anthranilic acid and tryptophane to nicotinic acid are well established in a number of organisms1 and it has been suggested that in the higher plants the pyridine ring may be formed in a like manner2. It has been shown, however, that tryptophane-3-14C is not a precursor of damascenine in Nigella damascena L., nor did it give rise to radioactive trigonelline when fed to pea seedlings3. It is possible that in the two plants studied the enzyme system necessary for the initial oxidation of tryptophane to kynurenine is lacking and that the hydroxyanthranilic acid in one case (damascenine) and the pyridine ring in the other (trigonelline) are synthesized from different precursors and by a different pathway.
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References
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GRIMSHAW, J., MARION, L. The Pyridine Ring and the Problem of its Biosynthesis. Nature 181, 112 (1958). https://doi.org/10.1038/181112a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/181112a0
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