The metabolism of 3-phenoxybenzyl alcohol,a pyrethroid metabolite,in plants

The metabolism and conjugation of 3-phenoxybenzyl alcohol, a plant metabolite of permethrin and cypermethrin, have been examined in abscised cotton leaves. Mature cotton leaves were treated by petiole uptake of an aqueous solution of α-¹⁴C]-3-phenoxybenzyl alcohol. Initially there was rapid formation of a compound identified as the glucosyl 3-phenoxybenzyl ether. Subsequently more polar compounds were formed and these were shown to be disaccharide conjugates of the alcohol with glucose and pentose sugars. The alcohol and its mono- and disaccharide conjugates were shown to undergo interconversion in cotton leaves, and evidence was obtained from experiments with ¹⁴C]glucose for the ready exchange of the glucose units on the conjugates with free glucose in the leaves. No larger carbohydrate conjugates of 3-phenoxybenzyl alcohol were detected under the conditions used.