Osmotic stress effects on cyanide in sorghum

What is it about?

Osmotic stress was used a proxy for long term chronic drought stress. Osmotic stress leads to increase in dhurrin concentration in sorghum, and therefore higher toxicity, but is reversible. When plants the stress was removed and plants were put into water, dhurrin levels decreased, but nitrate levels increased.

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Why is it important?

The work has important implications for working out when sorghum is safe to use for forage and when it is not. During stress, cyanide levels are higher. After stress, the problem of cyanide poisoning decreases, but the risk of nitrite toxicity increases