50 years of research on α-amino-β-methylaminopropionic acid (β-methylaminoalanine)

Abstract

The isolation of α-amino-β-methylaminopropionic acid from seeds of Cycas circinalis (now C. micronesica Hill) resulted from a purposeful attempt to establish the cause of the profound neurological disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism/dementia, that existed in high frequency amongst the inhabitants of the western Pacific island of Guam (Guam ALS/PD). In the 50 years since its discovery the amino acid has been a stimulus, and sometimes a subject of mockery, for generations of scientists in a remarkably diverse range of subject areas. The number of citations of the original paper has risen in the five decades from a few to 120 within the decade 2007-2016 and continues at a high rate into the next decade. The reasons for this remarkable outcome are discussed and examples from the literature are used to illustrate the wide range of scientific interest that the original paper generated.

Keywords: Cyanobacteria; Cycas circinalis; Cycas micronesica; Diatoms; Dinoflagellates; Guam ALS/PD; α-Amino-β-methylaminopropionic acid (MeDAP); β -methylaminoalanine (BMAA).