Chlorophyll Breakdown in Maize: On the Structure of Two Nonfluorescent Chlorophyll Catabolites

Summary. In extracts of senescent leaves of the maize plant Zea mays, two colorless compounds with UV/Vis-characteristics of nonfluorescent chlorophyll catabolites (NCCs) were detected and tentatively named Zm-NCCs. The constitution of the two polar Zm-NCCs was determined by spectroscopic means, which confirmed both of these tetrapyrroles to have the basic ligand structure typical of the NCCs from (other) senescent higher plants. In the less polar catabolite, named Zm-NCC-2, the core structure was conjugated at the 8²-position with a glucopyranose unit. Zm-NCC-2 had the same constitution as Nr-NCC-2, an NCC from tobacco (Nicotiana rustica). Indeed, the two NCCs were identified (further) based on their HPL-chromatographic and NMR-spectroscopic properties. The more polar NCC from maize, Zm-NCC-1, differed from Zm-NCC-2 by carrying a dihydroxyethyl side chain instead of a vinyl group at the 3-position. In earlier work on polar NCCs, only separate glucopyranosyl- and dihydroxyethyl-functionalities were detected. Zm-NCC-1 thus is a new constitutional variant of the structures of NCCs from senescent higher plants.     

Chlorophyll Breakdown – On a Nonfluorescent Chlorophyll Catabolite from Spinach

In extracts of senescent leaves of spinach (Spinacia oleracea) that had degreened naturally after the onset of flowering, four colorless compounds, which had characteristic UV/VIS properties of nonfluorescent chlorophyll catabolites (NCCs), were detected by HPLC. From the extracts of 58.7 g of senescent leaves of Sp. oleracea, a two‐stage HPLC purification procedure provided ca. 15 μmol of So‐NCC‐2, the most abundant polar NCC in the leaves of this vegetable. So‐NCC‐2 was isolated as a slightly yellow powder and analyzed by spectroscopic means. The high‐resolution mass spectra indicated that So‐NCC‐2 has the same molecular formula as Hv‐NCC‐1 from barley (Hordeum vulgare), the first non‐green chlorophyll catabolite from a higher plant to be structurally analyzed. Homo‐ and hetero‐nuclear NMR spectroscopy indicated So‐NCC‐2 to have the same constitution as its epimer Hv‐NCC‐1, and to differ from the latter by the configuration at C(1). The catabolite from spinach could be identified with one of the products from OsO₄ dihydroxylation at the vinyl group of the main NCC from Cercidiphyllum japonicum. Chlorophyll breakdown in spinach and in C. japonicum apparently involves an enzyme‐catalyzed reduction that occurs with the same stereochemical sense at C(1), but opposite to that in barley.     

Breakdown of Chlorophyll: A Tetrapyrrolic Chlorophyll Catabolite from Senescent Rape Leaves. Preliminary communication

The experiments leading to the isolation and to the elucidation of the constitution of Bn-NCC-1, a colourless non-fluorescent chlorophyll catabolite from senescent cotyledons of rape (Brassica napus L.), are described. A series of fast-atom-bombardment (FAB) mass and ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR spectral experiments are used to determine the constitution of the catabolite Bn-NCC-1. The structural information available indicates Bn-NCC-1 to be a 1-formyl-19-oxobilane, structurally related to ‘RP 14’, isolated earlier from artificially aged primary leaves of barley. The major differences between the constitution of the metal-free chlorophyll pheophorbide a and that of Bn-NCC-1 concern oxygenolytic opening of the porphinoid macrocycle at C(4)? C(5), saturation at the other meso positions, hydrolysis of the methyl-ester function, and functionalization by a malonic-acid unit of the side chain at C(8). This work provides for the first time the structural data of a chlorophyll-degradation product from senescent plant leaves formed under normal growth conditions.     

Stereo‐ and Regioselective Phyllobilane Oxidation in Leaf Homogenates of the Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii): Hypothetical Endogenous Path to Yellow Chlorophyll Catabolites

In senescent leaves, chlorophyll typically is broken down to colorless and essentially photo‐inactive phyllobilanes, which are linear tetrapyrroles classified as “nonfluorescent” chlorophyll catabolites (NCCs) and dioxobilane‐type NCCs (DNCCs). In homogenates of senescent leaves of the tropical evergreen Spathiphyllum wallisii, when left at room temperature and extracted with methanol, the major endogenous, naturally formed NCC was regio‐ and stereoselectively oxidized (in part) to a mixture of its 15‐hydroxy and 15‐methoxy derivative. In the absence of methanol in the extract, only the 15‐OH‐NCC was observed. The endogenous oxidation process depended upon molecular oxygen. It was inhibited by carbon monoxide, as well as by keeping the leaf homogenate and extract at low temperatures. The remarkable “oxidative activity” was inactivated by heating the homogenate for 10 min at 70 °C. Upon addition of a natural epimeric NCC (epiNCC) to the homogenate of senescent or green Sp. wallisii leaves at room temperature, the exogenous epiNCC was oxidized regio‐ and stereoselectively to 15‐OH‐epiNCC and 15‐OMe‐epiNCC. The identical two oxidized epiNCCs were also obtained as products of the oxidation of epiNCC with dicyanodichlorobenzoquinone (DDQ). Water elimination from 15‐OH‐epiNCC occurred readily and gave a known “yellow” chlorophyll catabolite (YCC). The endogenous oxidation process, described here, may represent the elusive natural path from the colorless NCCs to yellow and pink coloured phyllobilins, which were found in (extracts of) some senescent leaves.     

Chlorophyll Catabolites in Fall Leaves of the Wych Elm Tree Present a Novel Glycosylation Motif

Fall leaves of the common wych elm tree (Ulmus glabra) were studied with respect to chlorophyll catabolites. Over a dozen colorless, non‐fluorescent chlorophyll catabolites (NCCs) and several yellow chlorophyll catabolites (YCCs) were identified tentatively. Three NCC fractions were isolated and their structures were characterized by spectroscopic means. Two of these, Ug‐NCC‐27 and Ug‐NCC‐43, carried a glucopyranosyl appendage. Ug‐NCC‐53, the least polar of these NCCs, was identified as the formal product of an intramolecular esterification of the propionate and primary glucopyranosyl hydroxyl groups of Ug‐NCC‐43. Thus, the glucopyranose moiety and three of the pyrrole units of Ug‐NCC‐53 span a 20‐membered ring, installing a bicyclo[17.3.1]glycoside moiety. This structural motif is unprecedented in heterocyclic natural products, according to a thorough literature search. The remarkable, three‐dimensional bicyclo[17.3.1]glycoside architecture reduces the flexibility of the linear tetrapyrrole. This feature of Ug‐NCC‐53 is intriguing, considering the diverse biological effects of known bicyclo[n.3.1]glycosidic natural products.     

Breakdown of Chlorophyll: A Fluorescent Chlorophyll Catabolite from Sweet Pepper (Capsicum annuum)

The primary fluorescent chlorophyll catabolite 1 (Ca‐FCC‐2) from sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) has similar optical properties, but is slightly less polar than the primary FCC (pFCC; 2 ) from senescent cotyledons of oilseed rape (Brassica napus). Ca‐FCC‐2 was prepared from pheophorbide a using an enzyme extract from ripe C. annuum chromoplasts. The catabolite Ca‐FCC‐2 ( 1 ) could be determined from fast‐atom‐bombardment (FAB) mass spectra to be an isomer of pFCC ( 2 ). The constitution of Ca‐FCC‐2 was determined by homo‐ and heteronuclear magnetic‐resonance experiments and was found to be identical to that of pFCC. Further 2D‐homonuclear spectra of Ca‐FCC‐2 revealed it to differ from pFCC by the configuration at the methine atom C(1), whose configuration results from the action of red chlorophyll catabolite reductase (RCCR). The occurrence of two primary FCCs that are epimeric at C(1) provides a structural basis for the recent observation of two types of RCCRs among higher plants.     

Chlorophyll Breakdown in Senescent Banana Leaves: Catabolism Reprogrammed for Biosynthesis of Persistent Blue Fluorescent Tetrapyrroles

Chlorophyll breakdown is a visual phenomenon of leaf senescence and fruit ripening. It leads to the formation of colorless chlorophyll catabolites, a group of (chlorophyll‐derived bilin‐type) linear tetrapyrroles. Here, analysis and structure elucidation of the chlorophyll breakdown products in leaves of banana (Musa acuminata) is reported. In senescent leaves of this monocot all chlorophyll catabolites identified were hypermodified fluorescent chlorophyll catabolites (hmFCCs). Surprisingly, nonfluorescent chlorophyll catabolites (NCCs) were not found, the often abundant and apparently typical final chlorophyll breakdown products in senescent leaves. As a rule, FCCs exist only fleetingly, and they isomerize rapidly to NCCs in the senescent plant cell. Amazingly, in the leaves of banana plants, persistent hmFCCs were identified that accounted for about 80 % of the chlorophyll broken down, and yellow leaves of M. acuminata display a strong blue luminescence. The structures of eight hmFCCs from banana leaves were analyzed by spectroscopic means. The massive accumulation of the hmFCCs in banana leaves, and their functional group characteristics, indicate a chlorophyll breakdown path, the downstream transformations of which are entirely reprogrammed towards the generation of persistent and blue fluorescent FCCs. As expressed earlier in related studies, the present findings call for attention, as to still elusive biological roles of these linear tetrapyrroles.     

Hydroxymethylated Phyllobilins: A Puzzling New Feature of the Dioxobilin Branch of Chlorophyll Breakdown

Colorless nonfluorescent chlorophyll (Chl) catabolites (NCCs) are formyloxobilin‐type phyllobilins, which are considered the typical products of Chl breakdown in senescent leaves. However, in degreened leaves of some plants, dioxobilin‐type Chl catabolites (DCCs) predominate, which lack the formyl group of the NCCs, and which arise from Chl catabolites by oxidative removal of the formyl group by a P450 enzyme. Here a structural investigation of the DCCs in the methylesterase16 mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana is reported. Eight new DCCs were identified and characterized structurally. Strikingly, three of these DCCs carry stereospecifically added hydroxymethyl groups, and represent bilin‐type linear tetrapyrroles with an unprecedented modification. Indeed, DCCs show a remarkable structural parallel, otherwise, to the bilins from heme breakdown.     

Structures of Chlorophyll Catabolites in Bananas (Musa acuminata) Reveal a Split Path of Chlorophyll Breakdown in a Ripening Fruit

The disappearance of chlorophyll is a visual sign of fruit ripening. Yet, chlorophyll breakdown in fruit has hardly been explored; its non-green degradation products are largely unknown. Here we report the analysis and structure elucidation of colorless tetrapyrrolic chlorophyll breakdown products in commercially available, ripening bananas (Musa acuminata, Cavendish cultivar). In banana peels, chlorophyll catabolites were found in an unprecedented structural richness: a variety of new fluorescent chlorophyll catabolites (FCCs) and nonfluorescent chlorophyll catabolites (NCCs) were detected. As a rule, FCCs exist only "fleetingly" and are hard to observe. However, in bananas several of the FCCs (named Mc-FCCs) were persistent and carried an ester function at the propionate side-chain. NCCs were less abundant, and exhibited a free propionic acid group, but functional modifications elsewhere. The modifications of NCCs in banana peels were similar to those found in NCCs from senescent leaves. They are presumed to be introduced by enzymatic transformations at the stage of the mostly unobserved, direct FCC-precursors. The observed divergent functional group characteristics of the Mc-FCCs versus those of the Mc-NCCs indicated two major "late" processing lines of chlorophyll breakdown in ripening bananas. The "last common precursor" at the branching point to either the persistent FCCs, or towards the NCCs, was identified as a temporarily abundant "secondary" FCC. The existence of two "downstream" branches of chlorophyll breakdown in banana peels, and the striking accumulation of persistent Mc-FCCs call for attention as to the still-elusive biological roles of the resulting colorless linear tetrapyrroles.     

酸碱处理后纳米微晶纤维素的热行为分析

Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) was prepared from microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) by acid hydrolysis. It was observed that the diameter of NCC particles mainly distributed over 30-50nm by transmission electron microscope (TEM) . The crystal form and degree of crystallinity were detected by X-Ray diffraction. The results showed that NCC and MCC have the same crystal form of cellulose I, and that the reactions mainly occurred in the amorphous region of MCC during the acid hydrolysis process. The thermal behavior of NCC in different pH conditions was characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) . The consequences indicate that the thermal stability of NCC distinctly decreased by contrast with the thermal stability of MCC, and that the thermal stability of NCCs in alkali conditions was higher than that of NCCs in acid conditions. The specific surface area distinctly increased with sharp decreasing of the particle size of NCC. This induced the end carbons and active groups of surface of NCC to increase sharply, therefore caused the thermal stability of NCC to distinctly abate. That NCC has very strong adsorption affinity is the cause of the obvious difference of thermal behavior of NCC in different pH. In acid conditions the surface of NCC adsorbed a great lot of H^ , which induced the cellulose chains of surface of NCC to decompose at low temperature catalyzed by H^ . When adding sodium hydroxide solution, on one hand the H^ of surface of NCC was neutralized; on the other hand, the cellulose chains of low molecular weight were dissolved in sodium hydroxide solution and the defects of surface of NCC rearranged and stable structure formed. These factors improved the thermal stability of NCC in alkali conditions.     

A Dioxobilin‐Type Fluorescent Chlorophyll Catabolite as a Transient Early Intermediate of the Dioxobilin‐Branch of Chlorophyll Breakdown in Arabidopsis thaliana

Chlorophyll breakdown in higher plants occurs by the so called “PaO/phyllobilin” path. It generates two major types of phyllobilins, the characteristic 1‐formyl‐19‐oxobilins and the more recently discovered 1,19‐dioxobilins. The hypothetical branching point at which the original 1‐formyl‐19‐oxobilins are transformed into 1,19‐dioxobilins is still elusive. Here, we clarify this hypothetical crucial transition on the basis of the identification of the first natural 1,19‐dioxobilin‐type fluorescent chlorophyll catabolite (DFCC). This transient chlorophyll breakdown intermediate was isolated from leaf extracts of Arabidopsis thaliana at an early stage of senescence. The fleetingly existent DFCC was then shown to represent the direct precursor of the major nonfluorescent 1,19‐dioxobilin that accumulated in fully senescent leaves.     

Carrageenan as an elicitor of induced secondary metabolites and its effects on various growth characters of chickpea and maize plants

The effects of polysaccharide elicitor k-carrageenan obtained from Hypnea musciformis, red algae on the production of Induced Secondary Metabolites, ISMs (the disease resistance compounds) and on various growth characters of chickpea and maize plants were studied. Experiments were conducted in the field of PCSIR Laboratories Complex Karachi during December 2008–April 2009 in randomized complete block design with three replications. Three elicitor treatments were used, a solid preparation in which the elicitor was mixed with soil (T₂ 1 mg/g) and applied around the seeds in the soil. The two other preparations were liquid, T₁ and T₃ at a concentration of 100 μg glc eq ml⁻¹ and were applied around the sowing seeds and as a foliar spray on the plants, respectively. Statistical analysis of the data revealed that these treatments significantly enhanced all the growth characters of chickpea except T₂ that gave the nonsignificant difference in the plant height. Maximum plant height (80.3 cm), number of pods plant⁻¹ (76.2), number of branches plant⁻¹ (25.0), number of leaves plant⁻¹ (125.6), earlier flowering and high ISMs contents in leaves, stem and grains of chickpea were recorded in T₁ treated chickpea plants. In maize plants only T₁ and T₃ treatments (with minor exceptions) had significant effects on few characters like plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves plant⁻¹ and on ISMs contents in leaves while number of cobs plant⁻¹ and flowering time were nonsignificantly affected by these treatments. These results suggested that k-carrageenan elicitor can be used as a potent plant protectant as well as growth promoting agent especially for chickpea plants.     

Breakdown of Chlorophyll: Partial synthesis of a putative intermediary catabolite. Preliminary communication

The partial synthesis of 10,22-dihydro-4,5-dioxo-4,5-secopheophorbide a ( 1 ) from pheophorbide a methyl ester (2) is described. A regioselective, photooxygenolytic reaction of (pheophorbidato a methyl ester)cadmium(II)( 3 ) provides the entry to the crucial 4,5-secoporphinoid structure in form of the (10,22-dihydro-4,5-dioxo-4,5-seco-pheophorbidato a methyl ester)cadmium(II) ( 4 ). The hydride reduction of this 4,5-dioxo-4,5-secophytoporphyrin ester occurs selectively at the ‘eastern’ meso-position to lead (after demetallation) to 10,22-dihydro-4,5-dioxo-4,5-secopheophorbide a methyl ester ( 5 ). This oxobilin-carbaldehyde has the structure assigned earlier to an ester of an isolation form of the red pigment(s) from Chlorella protothecoides. Hydrolysis of the propanoate ester function of 5, selectively catalyzed by pig liver esterase, then yields the title compound 1 . The red tetrapyrrole 1 may represent an intermediary chlorophyll catabolite in degreening plants.     

A single extraction method for the analysis by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry of fumonisins and biomarkers of disrupted sphingolipid metabolism in tissues of maize seedlings

The fungus Fusarium verticillioides is a pathogen of many plants and produces fumonisins. In addition to their well-studied animal toxicoses, these toxins contribute to the development of maize seedling disease in susceptible maize varieties. Fumonisin disruption of sphingolipid biosynthesis occurs during pathogenesis. An extraction method was developed for the simultaneous analysis of fumonisins B₁ (FB₁), B₂ (FB₂) and B₃ (FB₃), free sphingoid bases and sphingoid base 1-phosphates in maize tissues by liquid chromatography/linear ion trap tandem mass spectrometry. The method involved a single extraction using 1:1 acetonitrile:water + 5% formic acid (1 ml per 10 mg tissue). Mean recoveries ranged from approximately 50 to 99 percent, and limits of detection ranged from 10 fg μl⁻¹ to 6900 fg μl⁻¹. To test the efficacy of the method, seeds of a susceptible maize line were inoculated with a pathogenic, fumonisin-producing strain of F. verticillioides. The seedlings were then harvested, and fumonisin content, as well as sphingoid bases and their 1-phosphates, were measured in the leaf and root tissues. Fumonisin accumulation was significantly greater in leaf one compared to leaves two and three. While FB₁, FB₂, and FB₃ were detected in root tissues, FB₁ was preferentially accumulated in leaf tissues. Accumulation of sphingoid bases and their 1-phosphates was evident in roots and leaves of seedlings grown from inoculated seed, with the level of accumulation being similar in leaves 1, 2 and 3. The method developed was effective, fast, and sensitive for use in simultaneously measuring fumonisin in tissues and their effects on sphingolipid metabolite biomarkers of disease. The method should be useful for screening maize cultivars for susceptibility to F. verticillioides-induced seedling diseases. Figure Lesion with chromatography     

四苯基钴卟啉化合物催化过亚硝酸根分解的研究

利用紫外-可见分光光度计在乙醇介质中研究了合成的4种对位取代四苯基钴卟啉对过亚硝酸根分解的催化作用. 首次发现钴卟啉可以催化ONOO^－分解, 且对位带吸电子基团的钴卟啉比对位带供电子基团的钴卟啉催化活性高. TPPCoCl, T(p-CH₃)PPCoCl, T(p-OCH₃)PPCoCl和T(p-Cl)PPCoCl在乙醇中的k_cat分别为1.69×10², 1.52×10², 1.43×10²和1.20×10³ mol^－1•L•s^－1. 动力学曲线和时间分辨谱证明这些钴卟啉是通过形成中间体催化过亚硝酸根分解的.     

Hydroxymethylated Dioxobilins in Senescent Arabidopsis thaliana Leaves: Sign of a Puzzling Biosynthetic Intermezzo of Chlorophyll Breakdown

1‐Formyl‐19‐oxobilin‐type tetrapyrroles are characteristic, abundant products of chlorophyll breakdown in senescent leaves. However, in some leaves, 1,19‐dioxobilin‐type chlorophyll catabolites (DCCs) lacking the formyl group accumulate instead. A P450 enzyme was identified in in vitro studies that removed the formyl group of a primary fluorescent chlorophyll catabolite (pFCC) and generated fluorescent DCCs. These DCCs are precursors of isomeric nonfluorescent DCCs (NDCCs). Here, we report a structural investigation of the NDCCs in senescent leaves of wild‐type Arabidopsis thaliana. Four new NDCCs were characterized, two of which carried a stereoselectively added hydroxymethyl group. Such formal DCC hydroxymethylations were previously found in DCCs in leaves of a mutant of A. thaliana. They are now indicated to be a feature of chlorophyll breakdown in A. thaliana, associated with the specific in vivo deformylation of pFCC en route to NDCCs.     

Arsenic compounds in terrestrial organisms. IV. Green plants and lichens from an old arsenic smelter site in Austria

Two lichens and 12 green plants growing at a former arsenic roasting facility in Austria were analyzed for total arsenic by ICP–MS, and for 12 arsenic compounds (arsenous acid, arsenic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, methylarsonic acid, arsenobetaine, arsenocholine, trimethylarsine oxide, the tetramethylarsonium cation and four arsenoriboses) by HPLC–ICP–MS. Total arsenic concentrations were in the range of 0.27 mg As (kg dry mass)⁻¹ (Vaccinium vitis idaea) to 8.45 mg As (kg dry mass)⁻¹ (Equisetum pratense). Arsenic compounds were extracted with two different extractants [water or methanol/water (9:1)]. Extraction yields achieved with water [7% (Alectoria ochroleuca) to 71% (Equisetum pratense)] were higher than those with methanol/water (9:1) [4% (Alectoria ochroleuca) to 22% (Deschampsia cespitosa)]. The differences were caused mainly by better extraction of inorganic arsenic (green plants) and an arsenoribose (lichens) by water. Inorganic arsenic was detected in all extracts. Dimethylarsinic acid was identified in nine green plants. One of the lichens (Alectoria ochroleuca) contained traces of methylarsonic acid, and this compound was also detected in nine of the green plants. Arsenobetaine was a major arsenic compound in extracts of the lichens, but except for traces in the grass Deschampsia cespitosa, it was not detected in the green plants. In contrast to arsenobetaine, trimethylarsine oxide was found in all samples. The tetramethylarsonium cation was identified in the lichen Alectoria ochroleuca and in four green plants. With the exception of the needles of the tree Larix decidua the arsenoribose (2′R)‐dimethyl[1‐O‐(2′,3′‐dihydroxypropyl)‐5‐deoxy‐β‐D ‐ribofuranos‐5‐yl]arsine oxide was identified at the low μg kg⁻¹ level or as a trace in all plants investigated. In the lichens an unknown arsenic compound, which did not match any of the standard compounds available, was also detected. Arsenocholine and three of the arsenoriboses were not detected in the samples. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

脱镁叶绿酸-a甲酯的1,3-偶极环加成及其叶绿素衍生物的合成

以脱镁叶绿酸-a甲酯(1)为起始原料, 利用其3-位乙烯基与重氮甲烷的1,3-偶极环加成反应, 得到3-位氢化吡唑取代的脱镁叶绿酸-a衍生物2, 通过热裂解使得3-位吡唑基开环并重排成环丙基. 碱性条件下, 所生成的3-环丙基取代的卟吩3脱甲氧甲酰基后转化成焦脱镁叶绿酸衍生物4. 选用重氮乙烷为另一偶极体与1进行1,3-偶极环加成反应, 则给出2-甲基环丙基取代的立体异构体卟吩5, 同样经过脱甲氧甲酰基处理, 得到焦脱镁叶绿酸衍生物6. 所合成新叶绿素衍生物2～6均经UV, IR, ¹H NMR及元素分析证明其结构.     

Zum Mechanismus der Photochemie des Benzfurazans

Mechanistic studies on the photochemical reactions of benzfurazan . From other works it is known that irradiation of benzfurazan ( 1 ) in methanol gives the carbaminacid-ester 4 , whereas in benzene the azepinederivative 3 is obtained (Scheme 1). The compounds 5–8 (Scheme 2) have been proposed as intermediates. In our investigations we detected and characterized by means of UV.- and IR.-spectroscopy the two species 5 and 8 . Irradiation of 1 with 350 nm light at room temperature in a strongly polar solvent (e.g. H₂O) yields exclusively 5 (Fig. 1) with a quantum yield of 0.48. In non polar solvents (e.g. hexane) 5 isomerizes in a second photochemical step to 8 (quantum yield 0.43) (Fig. 3). Thermally, 5 can be converted back to 1 . The rate constant for this reaction at room temperature is 2 · 10^–5s^–1. The transformation 5 → 8 was also investigated at low temperature. There was no direct evidence for any intermediates of the type oxazirene ( 6 ) or nitrene ( 7 ). However, the formation of azepine 3 upon irradiation of 5 in benzene suggests as intermediate the nitrene 7 which could be converted into 8 in a fast thermal reaction (Scheme 3).     

Effects of uptake and translocation on herbicide phytotoxicity

The uptake and translocation of¹⁴C labelled acetochlor and EPTC herbicides were followed in experiments with maize /Zea mays L./ and mustard /Sinapis alba L./ in nutrient solutions. Radioactivity data were comparatively evaluated for approaching the origin of the different phytotoxicity of these herbicides to the plants used. Results obtained are in good agreement with the extent and symptoms of herbicide injury on maize and mustard plants grown in acetochlor or EPTC treated sand.