Mugineic acid is an amino acid excreted by some graminaceous (grassy) plants under conditions of iron deficiency as part of a strategy of solubilizing Fe from the root environment for uptake by the plant. Mugineic acid is closely related to its biochemical precursor, nicotianamine, and to a number of other compounds that also have been identified as phytosiderophores in graminaceous plants: 3-hydroxymugineic acid, 2'-deoxymugineic acid, avenic acid, and distichonic acid.
