Abstract
Three cyanogenic glycosides were incubated simultaneously but separately in rumen fluid from cattle to determine the rates of glycoside hydrolysis. The average rates for prunasin were significantly higher than those for linamarin or amygdalin. Production of HCN from linamarin occurred in 25 out of 50 strains of rumen bacteria tested. Key words: Cyanogenesis, rumen bacteria, linamarin, amygdalin, prunasin, cattle diets