Investigations of Canavanine Biochemistry in the Jack Bean Plant, Canavalia ensiformis (L.) DC: II. Canavanine Biosynthesis in the Developing Plant.

The canavanine content of developing leaves of jack bean, Canavalia ensiformis (L.) DC., increases during leaf development. The leaf possesses the enzymes required for synthesizing canavanine by a cyclic series of reactions analogous to the ornithine-urea cycle. This reaction series involves the sequential formation of canaline, O-ureidohomoserine, and canavaninosuccinic acid.