sinigrin

S1I1N1I1G2R1I1N1

noun

A glycosinolate glycoside found in many brassicas and related plants which is toxic in large quantities and responsible for the pungent bite of horseradish and hot mustard.

Scrabble 9

Meanings

nounsinigrin (uncountable)
  1. uncountablebiochemistryA glycosinolate glycoside found in many brassicas and related plants which is toxic in large quantities and responsible for the pungent bite of horseradish and hot mustard.

    He also found that pea leaf powder treated with sinigrin gave no significantly different feeding response when compared with the effect of introducing normal leaf powder into the diet.

    2012, John Feltwell, Large White Butterfly: the biology, biochemistry and physiology of Pieris brassicae (Linnaeus), page 129
    2 more examples

    When these larvae are transferred to an artificial diet lacking sinigrin, they refuse to eat and, in fact prefer to die rather than accept food lacking what has become an essential attractant.

    1993, J. B. Harborne, Introduction to Ecological Biochemistry, 4th edition, page 139

    In black mustard plants, individuals producing higher levels of the phytochemical sinigrin, a compound that reduces fungal densities in the soil, are good competitors against other species that rely on soil fungi for nutrient acquisition.

    2013, “III.15: Adaptation to the Biotic Environment”, in David A. Baum, Douglas J. Futuyma, Hopi E. Hoekstra, Richard E. Lenski, Allen J. Moore, Cahterine L. Peichel, Dolph Schluter, Michael C. Whitlock, editors, The Princeton Guide to Evolution, page 302

Origin

From the species name Sinapis nigra + -in.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

sinigrin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sinigrin

MLA

“sinigrin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sinigrin. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sinigrin,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sinigrin.

Source: sinigrin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.