Excretion of miserotoxin and detoxification of the aglycone by grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Two species of grasshoppers ( Melanoplus bivittatus and M. sanguinipes) tolerated high levels of miserotoxin (3-nitro-1-propyl-β- d-glucopyranoside) in their diet. Miserotoxin is a causative agent in cattle poisoning when timber milkvetch ( Astragalus miser) is consumed. Toxic effects were averted by grasshoppers in part by excretion of the intact glycoside. When the aglycone was administered, detoxification was achieved by two routes: by oxidation of the aglycone to 3-nitropropionic acid which was then conjugated with glycine, and by glucosylation of the aglycone to miserotoxin, in each case followed by excretion. When the aglycone was administered to grasshoppers, detoxification was achieved by oxidation of the aglycone to 3-nitropropionic acid, which was then conjugated with glycine, and by glucosylation of the aglycone to miserotoxin, which in both cases was excreted.