Archives
International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences Research Article
Cyanogenic glycosides and food safety: A study of hydrogen cyanide in monocot wild edible plants from bhandara district of Maharashtra
Muraree Ghanshyam Nawkhare and Mukund B. Shende
Year : 2026 | Volume: 11 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 293-298
Received on: 20/03/2026
Revised on: 29/03/2026
Accepted on: 28/04/2026
Published on: 31/05/2026
-
Muraree Ghanshyam Nawkhare and Mukund B. Shende( 2026).
Cyanogenic glycosides and food safety: A study of hydrogen cyanide in monocot wild edible plants from bhandara district of Maharashtra
. International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences, 11( 3), 293-298.
-
click to view the cite format
Abstract
Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is a natural plant toxin that is present in several plants, most of which are consumed by humans in the form of wild edible plants. HCN is produced by cyanogenic glycoside plants through enzymatic hydrolysis processes like chewing, crushing, and grinding during food processing. Plants usually produced hydrogen cyanide to defend themselves against bacteria, insects, predators, and herbivorous animals. Consuming cyanogenic glycosides, whether unintentionally or intentionally, can result in rapid breathing, decreased blood pressure, dizziness, convulsions, vomiting, growth retardation, and neurological symptoms due to tissue damage in the central nervous system. For many indigenous, tribal, and rural communities, these plants act as supplementary or alternative food sources, especially during periods of seasonal food scarcity and drought. In the Bhandara district, more than 125 WEPs are consumed by tribal, rural, and local people. Therefore, it is crucial to determine the presence of cyanide content in wild edible plants before using them.
Keywords
Hydrogen cyanide, Wild edible plants, Cyanogenic glycosides, Hydrolysis.
-
Full Article PDF (
15)
- View HTML Article
Copy Rights
© The Author(s) 2025. This article is published by International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (creativecommons.org), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
