Analysis, Occurrence, and Toxicity of ß-methylaminoalanine (BMAA)

Analysis, Occurrence, and Toxicity of ß-methylaminoalanine (BMAA) PDF

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 9789289334402

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Abstract: In 2005 an international research team reported that cyanobacteria living in symbiosis with plants or living free in lakes and oceans are able to produce the non-protein amino acid -methylaminoalanine, also known as BMAA. Some years earlier the American scientists in this team had reported that BMAA could be found not only in the brain from diseased patients of the Chamorro people on Guam having the neurodegenerative diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinsons dementia (PD), but also in two patients with Alzheimers disease in Canada. A very high incidence of ALS and PD among the Chamorro people had been known since after the Second World War and had been linked to the use of flour prepared from the seeds of the local cycad tree, which had been shown to contain BMAA. As surface water is frequently purified and used as drinking water, it was hypothesised that low level of contamination of drinking water with BMAA from the cyanobacteria might reach the human brain and over time result in neurodegenerative disease. This reports aimed at scrutinizing this hypothesis, and concludes that BMAA is unlikely to occur in drinking water and be responsible for these neurological diseases in the Western World

Environmental Factors in Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Disorders

Environmental Factors in Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Disorders PDF

Author: Michael Aschner

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2015-06-18

Total Pages: 451

ISBN-13: 012800407X

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Environmental Factors in Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Disorders presents a state-of-the-art review of the effects of environmental contaminants on the development and degeneration of the human nervous system, brought together by world-leading experts in the field. Part One describes the adverse effects that the environment can have on neurological development, and how these effects may exhibit. Specific contaminants and their possible consequences of exposure are addressed (lead, methylmercury, alcohol), as well as specific disorders and the environmental factors associated with them, such as the effect of diet on attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders. Part Two tackles neurodegenerative disorders, specifically addressing their potential neurotoxic origins, and discussing the increasing interest in the effects that early exposure may have in later life. Environmental Factors in Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Disorders is an invaluable reference for those professionals working in the fields of toxicology, environmental health and neuroscience. Provides, for the first time, the cutting-edge theory of environmental impacts on both neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders Written by an international selection of the world’s foremost experts in the field of neurotoxicology Full-colour throughout, providing accurate and illustrative examples of neurotoxic effects in action An invaluable reference for those professionals working in the fields of toxicology, environmental health, and neuroscience

Occurrence and Use of Hallucinogenic Mushrooms Containing Psilocybin Alkaloids

Occurrence and Use of Hallucinogenic Mushrooms Containing Psilocybin Alkaloids PDF

Author: Christer Andersson

Publisher: Nordic Council of Ministers

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 124

ISBN-13: 9289318368

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In some parts of the world mushrooms have had a central role in religious ritual ceremonies. Ethnomycological studies among the Indian tribes of Mexico - the Aztecs and the Chichimecas - revealed the mushrooms to be hallucinogenic. Chemists from a leading Pharmaceutical company took over, isolated and described the mushroom alkaloid psilocybin, that upon dephosphorylation after collection of the mushroom or in the human body, form psilocin that is the active hallucinogenic compound. For a long time psilocybin/psilocin was expected to become a constituent of psychedelic drugs useful for treatment of specific psychoses. As the effect of psilocybin/psilocin resembles that of LSD the isolated compound, as well as mushrooms containing the compound, became popular among recreational users of hallucinogenic drugs in Western America, and from there the habit of using these mushrooms have spread around the world. Psilocybin/psilocin is legally prohibited in many countries which usually treat the compound as a narcotic drug. Some countries also prohibit the use of some or all psilocybin-containing mushrooms. In this respect, the legal situation differs between Nordic countries. Although psilocybin-containing mushrooms are not what Nordic mushroom pickers are trying to find as food or food supplement, there is a risk, admittedly small, that these mushrooms accidentally will be collected. At the present situation, this may be a legal problem in some Nordic countries. This document aims at identifying when this might be the case without going into legal interpretations.

Alkaloids in edible lupin seeds

Alkaloids in edible lupin seeds PDF

Author: Kirsten Pilegaard

Publisher: Nordic Council of Ministers

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 74

ISBN-13: 9289318023

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The report reviews the toxicity data on inherent natural toxicants in lupin seeds, especially quinolizidin alkaloids. Lupin seeds are increasingly used in the Nordic countries, partially substituting wheat flour in certain foods. An estimation of the risk by consuming foods containing lupin seeds in the Nordic countries and recommendations to better ensure the safe use of these seeds in foods are given.

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