Previous studies underestimate BMAA concentrations in cycad flour

摘要

The traditional diet of the Chamorro people of Guam has high concentrations of the neurotoxin BMAA, β-methyl-amino-L-alanine, in cycad tortillas and from animals that feed on cycad seeds. We measured BMAA concentration in washedcycad flour and compared different extraction methods used by previous researchers in order to determine how much BMAAmay have been unaccounted for in prior research. Samples were analyzed with AQC precolumn derivatization using HPLC-FDdetection and verified with UPLC-UV, UPLC-MS, and triple quadrupole LC/MS/MS. Although previous workers hadstudied only the free amino acid component of BMAA in washed cycad flour, we detected significant levels of protein-associatedBMAA in washed cycad flour. These data support a link between ALS/PDC and exposure to BMAA.