The ¹³C labels of [¹³C]carbon dioxide and D-[¹³C₆]glucose were incorporated into cyanamide (NH₂CN) when they were administered to Vicia villosa subsp. varia shoots. In contrast, the administration of sodium [2,3-¹³C₂]pyruvate did not affect the relative area of the [M + 1]+ ion of cyanamide in the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. [2,3-¹³C₂]pyruvate was incorporated into organic acids that are part of the citric acid cycle, such as succinate and fumarate, confirming that the shoots absorbed and metabolised it. These observations demonstrated that the carbon atom of cyanamide is derived from any of the carbohydrates that are present upstream of pyruvate in the metabolic pathway.