出典:Wiktionary
cucurbitacin (複数形 cucurbitacins)
出典:Wikipedia
出典:『Wikipedia』 (2011/06/06 22:04 UTC 版)
Cucurbitacin is any of a class of biochemical compounds that some plants — notably members of the family Cucurbitaceae, that includes the common pumpkins and gourds — developed in order to defend themselves from herbivores. Cucurbitacins are chemically classified as steroids, formally derived from cucurbitane, a triterpene hydrocarbon — specifically, from the unsaturated variant cucurbita-5-ene, or 19-(10→9β)-abeo-10α-lanost-5-ene. They often occur as glycosides.