Witthohn K, Naumann C M
Comp Biochem Physiol C Comp Pharmacol Toxicol. 1984;79(1):103-6. doi: 10.1016/0742-8413(84)90170-1.
Beside the known existence of cyanoglucosides (linamarin and lotaustralin) and proteins the neurotoxin beta-cyanoalanine has been demonstrated for the first time in the defensive secretions of animals. It is proposed that beta-cyanoalanine is produced by metabolizing cyanide from the cyanoglucosides. The methanolic precipitated protein fraction contains high amounts of aspartic acid, glycine, alanine, leucine and serine, thus being similar to the composition of larval silks in Lepidoptera. The defensive secretion contains 85% water, 8% proteins, 7% cyanoglucosides, 0.3% beta-cyanoalanine and beta-glucosidase while beta-cyanoalanine-synthetase could only be detected in the haemolymph.
除了已知存在氰苷（亚麻苦苷和百脉根苷）和蛋白质外，动物的防御分泌物中首次发现了神经毒素β-氰基丙氨酸。据推测，β-氰基丙氨酸是由氰苷中的氰化物代谢产生的。甲醇沉淀的蛋白质部分含有大量的天冬氨酸、甘氨酸、丙氨酸、亮氨酸和丝氨酸，因此与鳞翅目幼虫丝的组成相似。防御分泌物含有85%的水、8%的蛋白质、7%的氰苷、0.3%的β-氰基丙氨酸和β-葡萄糖苷酶，而β-氰基丙氨酸合成酶只能在血淋巴中检测到。
