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. 2018 Oct 30:264:449-454.
doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.04.093. Epub 2018 May 4.

Quantitative HPLC-MS/MS analysis of toxins in soapberry seeds: Methylenecyclopropylglycine and hypoglycin A

Aimee A Sanford  1 , Samantha L Isenberg  2 , Melissa D Carter  3 , Mike A Mojica  4 , Thomas P Mathews  4 , Leslie A Harden  5 , Gary R Takeoka  5 , Jerry D Thomas  2 , James L Pirkle  2 , Rudolph C Johnson  2
Affiliations

Quantitative HPLC-MS/MS analysis of toxins in soapberry seeds: Methylenecyclopropylglycine and hypoglycin A

Aimee A Sanford et al. Food Chem. .

Abstract

Methylenecyclcopropylglycine (MCPG) and hypoglycin A (HGA) are naturally occurring amino acids found in various soapberry (Sapindaceae) fruits. These toxins have been linked to illnesses worldwide and were recently implicated in Asian outbreaks of acute hypoglycemic encephalopathy. In a previous joint agricultural and public health investigation, we developed an analytical method capable of evaluating MCPG and HGA concentrations in soapberry fruit arils as well as a clinical method for the urinary metabolites of the toxins. Since the initial soapberry method only analyzed the aril portion of the fruit, we present here the extension of the method to include the fruit seed matrix. This work is the first method to quantitate both MCPG and HGA concentrations in the seeds of soapberry fruit, including those collected during a public health investigation. Further, this is the first quantitation of HGA in litchi seeds as well as both toxins in mamoncillo and longan seeds.

Keywords: Hypoglycemic encephalopathy; Hypoglycin A (HGA); Methylenecyclopropylglycine (MCPG); Sapindaceae; Soapberry seeds.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Extracted Ion Chromatograms of Rambutan Seed Extract
Figure 2
Figure 2
Application of the method to commercial and investigation litchi fruit.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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