天然シアナミドの発見とその分布に関する研究(奨励賞,受賞業績)

概要

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Cyanamide (NH_2CN) has been synthesized for over a hundred years for agricultural and industrial uses. This compound was isolated from Vicia villosa subsp. varia, which was guided by a plant growth inhibitory activity on lettuce seedlings. A large proportion of the inhibitory activity in the crude extract of V. villosa subsp. varia was explained by the presence of cyanamide. This was the first isolation of cyanamide from natural sources. To demonstrate that the cyanamide was of natural origin, [^<15>N] nitrate was administered to V. villosa subsp. varia seedlings. The isotopic ratio of ^<15>N in the cyanamide isolated from the plants was higher than that of the cyanamide extracted from the seedlings grown in the presence of a natural N source, indicating that this plant biosynthesizes cyanamide. We established a direct quantitative determination method of cyanamide by stable isotope dilution gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GCMS) using selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. We investigated 553 species of higher plants but have so far found only three species containing cyanamide at detectable levels; V. villosa subsp. varia, V. cracca, and Robinia pseudo-acacia. The distribution of the plants that accumulate natural cyanamide appears to be highly limited.
2010-05-31