Gossypol

A naturally-occurring lipophylic polyphenol produced and sequestered in the “gossypol glands” of plants of the genus Gossypium (Malvaceae). After extraction it is present in unrefined cottonseed oil. When given to chickens, it colors the yolk green. Gossypol has medicinal properties, among them inhibition of male fertility and antiviral activity. It is a cardiotoxin, to which monograstric animals are more susceptible than ruminants.