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6-MITC
6-(Methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate (6-MITC or 6-MSITC) is a compound within the isothiocyanate group of organosulfur compounds. 6-MITC is obtained from cruciferous vegetables, chiefly wasabi. Like other isothiocyanates, it is produced when the enzyme myrosinase transforms the associated glucosinolate into 6-MITC upon cell injury. It is a trend in Japan to apply freshly grated wasabi stem to the hair because Kinin Corporation, the world's largest wasabi producer, claims that 6-MITC promotes hair regrowth. See also * Methyl isothiocyanate Methyl isothiocyanate is the organosulfur compound with the formula CH3N=C=S. This low melting colorless solid is a powerful lachrymator. As a precursor to a variety of valuable bioactive compounds, it is the most important organic isothiocyanat ... References Isothiocyanates Sulfoxides {{biochemistry-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Methyl Isothiocyanate
Methyl isothiocyanate is the organosulfur compound with the formula CH3N=C=S. This low melting colorless solid is a powerful lachrymator. As a precursor to a variety of valuable bioactive compounds, it is the most important organic isothiocyanate in industry. Synthesis It is prepared industrially by two routes. Annual production in 1993 was estimated to be 4,000 tonnes. The main method involves the thermal rearrangement of methyl thiocyanate: :CH3S−C≡N → CH3N=C=S It is also prepared via with the reaction of methylamine with carbon disulfide followed by oxidation of the resulting dithiocarbamate with hydrogen peroxide. A related method is useful to prepare this compound in the laboratory. MITC forms naturally upon the enzymatic degradation of glucocapparin, a glucoside found in capers. Reactions A characteristic reaction is with amines to give methyl thioureas: :CH3NCS + R2NH → R2NC(S)NHCH3 : Other nucleophiles add similarly. Applications Solutions of M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wasabi
Wasabi (Japanese: , , or , ; ''Eutrema japonicum'' or ''Wasabia japonica'') or Japanese horseradish is a plant of the family Brassicaceae, which also includes horseradish and mustard in other genera. The plant is native to Japan and the Russian Far East including Sakhalin, also the Korean Peninsula. It grows naturally along stream beds in mountain river valleys in Japan. It is grown for its rhizomes which are ground into a paste as a pungent condiment for ''sushi'' and other foods. It is similar in taste to hot mustard or horseradish rather than chili peppers in that it stimulates the nose more than the tongue, but freshly grated wasabi has a subtly distinct flavour. However, most common wasabi flavorings are ersatz, and are made of horseradish and food coloring. The two main cultivars in the marketplace are ''E. japonicum'' 'Daruma' and 'Mazuma', but there are many others. The oldest record of wasabi as a food dates to the 8th century AD. The popularity of wasabi in English-sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isothiocyanate
In organic chemistry, isothiocyanate is the functional group , formed by substituting the oxygen in the isocyanate group with a sulfur. Many natural isothiocyanates from plants are produced by enzymatic conversion of metabolites called glucosinolates. These natural isothiocyanates, such as allyl isothiocyanate, are also known as mustard oils. An artificial isothiocyanate, phenyl isothiocyanate, is used for amino acid sequencing in the Edman degradation. Cruciferous vegetables, such as bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and others, are rich sources of glucosinolate precursors of isothiocyanates. Although there has been some basic research on how isothiocyanates might exert biological effects ''in vivo'', there is no high-quality evidence to date for its efficacy against human diseases. Structure Typical bond angles for and linkages in aryl isothiocyanates are 165° and 177°, respectively. The and distances are 117 and 158 pms. Synthesis and reactions Isothiocy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Organosulfur Compounds
Organosulfur compounds are organic compounds that contain sulfur. They are often associated with foul odors, but many of the sweetest compounds known are organosulfur derivatives, e.g., saccharin. Nature abounds with organosulfur compounds—sulfur is vital for life. Of the 20 common amino acids, two (cysteine and methionine) are organosulfur compounds, and the antibiotics penicillin and sulfa drugs both contain sulfur. While sulfur-containing antibiotics save many lives, sulfur mustard is a deadly chemical warfare agent. Fossil fuels, coal, petroleum, and natural gas, which are derived from ancient organisms, necessarily contain organosulfur compounds, Desulfurization, the removal of which is a Claus process, major focus of oil refineries. Sulfur shares the chalcogen group with oxygen, selenium, and tellurium, and it is expected that organosulfur compounds have similarities with carbon–oxygen, carbon–selenium, and carbon–tellurium compounds. A classical chemical test for the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cruciferous Vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables are vegetables of the family Brassicaceae (also called Cruciferae) with many genera, species, and cultivars being raised for food production such as cauliflower, cabbage, kale, garden cress, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, mustard plant and similar green leaf vegetables. The family takes its alternative name (Cruciferae, New Latin for "cross-bearing") from the shape of their flowers, whose four petals resemble a cross. Ten of the most common cruciferous vegetables eaten by people, known colloquially in North America as cole crops and in the UK, Ireland and Australia as brassicas, are in a single species (''Brassica oleracea''); they are not distinguished from one another Taxonomy (biology), taxonomically, only by horticultural category of cultivar groups. Numerous other genus, genera and species in the family are also edible. Cruciferous vegetables are one of the dominant food crops worldwide. They are high in vitamin C and dietary fiber, soluble fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enzyme
Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. Almost all metabolic processes in the cell need enzyme catalysis in order to occur at rates fast enough to sustain life. Metabolic pathways depend upon enzymes to catalyze individual steps. The study of enzymes is called ''enzymology'' and the field of pseudoenzyme analysis recognizes that during evolution, some enzymes have lost the ability to carry out biological catalysis, which is often reflected in their amino acid sequences and unusual 'pseudocatalytic' properties. Enzymes are known to catalyze more than 5,000 biochemical reaction types. Other biocatalysts are catalytic RNA molecules, called ribozymes. Enzymes' specificity comes from their unique three-dimensional structures. Like all catalysts, enzymes increase the reaction ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myrosinase
Myrosinase (, ''thioglucoside glucohydrolase'', ''sinigrinase'', and ''sinigrase'') is a family of enzymes involved in plant defense against herbivores, specifically the mustard oil bomb. The three-dimensional structure has been elucidated and is available in the PDB (see links in the infobox). A member of the glycoside hydrolase family, myrosinase possesses several similarities with the more ubiquitous O-glycosidases. However, myrosinase is the only known enzyme found in nature that can cleave a thio-linked glucose. Its known biological function is to catalyze the hydrolysis of a class of compounds called glucosinolates. Myrosinase activity Myrosinase is regarded as a defense-related enzyme and is capable of hydrolyzing glucosinolates into various compounds, some of which are toxic. Mechanism Myrosinase catalyzes the chemical reaction :a thioglucoside + H2O \rightleftharpoons a sugar + a thiol Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are thioglucoside and H2O, whereas it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glucosinolate
Glucosinolates are natural components of many pungent plants such as mustard, cabbage, and horseradish. The pungency of those plants is due to mustard oils produced from glucosinolates when the plant material is chewed, cut, or otherwise damaged. These natural chemicals most likely contribute to plant defence against pests and diseases, and impart a characteristic bitter flavor property to cruciferous vegetables. Plants with glucosinolates Glucosinolates occur as secondary metabolites of almost all plants of the order Brassicales. Ordered in the Brassicales are for example the economically important family Brassicaceae as well as Capparaceae and Caricaceae. Outside of the Brassicales, the genera ''Drypetes'' and ''Putranjiva'' in the family Putranjivaceae, are the only other known occurrence of glucosinolates. Glucosinolates occur in various edible plants such as cabbage (white cabbage, Chinese cabbage, broccoli), Brussels sprouts, watercress, horseradish, capers, and radishes wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinin Corporation
A kinin is any of various structurally related polypeptides, such as bradykinin and kallidin. They are members of the autacoid family. Kinins are peptides that are cleaved from kininogens by the process of kallikreins. Kallikreins activate kinins when stimulated. It is a component of the kinin-kallikrein system. Their precursors are kininogens. Kininogens contain a 9-11 amino acid bradykinin sequence. In botany, the plant hormones known as cytokinins were first called kinins, but the name was changed to avoid confusion. Effects of Kinins Kinin are short lived peptides that cause pain sensation, arteriolar dilation, increase vascular permeability and cause contractions in smooth muscle. Kinins transmit their effects through G protein- coupled receptors. Kinin act on axons to block nervous impulses, which leads to distal muscle relaxation. Kinin are also potent nerve stimulators. which is mostly responsible for the sense of pain (and sometimes itching). Kinin increase vascular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isothiocyanates
In organic chemistry, isothiocyanate is the functional group , formed by substituting the oxygen in the isocyanate group with a sulfur. Many natural isothiocyanates from plants are produced by enzymatic conversion of metabolites called glucosinolates. These natural isothiocyanates, such as allyl isothiocyanate, are also known as mustard oils. An artificial isothiocyanate, phenyl isothiocyanate, is used for amino acid sequencing in the Edman degradation. Cruciferous vegetables, such as bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and others, are rich sources of glucosinolate precursors of isothiocyanates. Although there has been some basic research on how isothiocyanates might exert biological effects ''in vivo'', there is no high-quality evidence to date for its efficacy against human diseases. Structure Typical bond angles for and linkages in aryl isothiocyanates are 165° and 177°, respectively. The and distances are 117 and 158 pms. Synthesis and reactions Iso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
