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Brief Communications
Nature 419, 685 (17 October 2002) | doi:10.1038/419685a
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Plant biochemistry: An onion enzyme that makes the eyes water
S. Imai1, N. Tsuge1, M. Tomotake1, Y. Nagatome1, H. Sawada1, T. Nagata2 & H. Kumagai3
Abstract
The irritating lachrymatory factor that is released by onions when they are chopped up has been presumed to be produced spontaneously following the action of the enzyme alliinase, which operates in the biochemical pathway that produces the compounds responsible for the onion's characteristic flavour1, 2, 3, 4. Here we show that this factor is not formed as a by-product of this reaction, but that it is specifically synthesized by a previously undiscovered enzyme, lachrymatory-factor synthase. It may be possible to develop a non-lachrymatory onion that still retains its characteristic flavour and high nutritional value by downregulating the activity of this synthase enzyme.
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