title: Comparison of gas chromotography, spectrophotometry and near infrared spectroscopy to quantify prussic acid potential in forages.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] has been shown to contain the cyanogenic glycoside dhurrin, which is responsible for the disorder known as prussic acid poisoning in livestock. The current standard method for estimating hydrogen cyanide (HCN) uses spectrophotometry to measure the aglycone, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde (p-HB), after hydrolysis. Errors may occur due to the inability of this method to solely estimate the absorbance of p-HB at a given wavelength. The objective of this study was to compare the use of gas chromatography (GC) and near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) methods, along with a spectrophotometry method to estimate the potential for prussic acid (HCNp) of sorghum and sudangrasses over three stages maturities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was shown that the GC produced higher HCNp estimates than the spectrophotometer for the grain sorghums, but lower concentrations for the sudangrass. Based on what is known about the analytical process of each method, the GC data is likely closer to the true HCNp concentrations of the forages. Both the GC and spectrophotometry methods yielded robust equations with the NIRS method; however, using GC as the calibration method resulted in more accurate and repeatable estimates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The HCNp values obtained from using the GC quantification method are believed to be closer to the actual values of the forage, and that use of this method will provide a more accurate and easily automated means of quantifying prussic acid.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy, 2101 Agronomy Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA. ben.goff@uky.edu
authors.forename: Ben M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Goff
authors.forename: Kenneth J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Steven L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Fales
authors.forename: Jeffery F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Pedersen
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis*; D000818:Animals; D001547:Benzaldehydes / Q000032:analysis; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods*; D006856:Hydrogen Cyanide / Q000032:analysis*; D006868:Hydrolysis; D058751:Livestock; D009570:Nitriles / Q000032:analysis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D045868:Sorghum / Q000737:chemistry*; D013053:Spectrophotometry / Q000379:methods*; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001547:Benzaldehydes; D009570:Nitriles; D006856:Hydrogen Cyanide; C011483:4-hydroxybenzaldehyde; C011220:dhurrin