Influence of diet on the acute toxicity of hypoglycin-A in rats.

Hypoglycin-A (Hassall, Reyle & Feng, 1954), is a toxic polypeptide isolated from the fruit of Blighia sapida-known as the ackee in Jamaica. The toxin produces an acute hypoglycaemia and a depletion of liver glycogen in experimental animals. The fruit is a common dietary item locally, and it has been suspected as one of the causes of ‘vomiting sickness ’, which is an acute syndrome with high mortality usually occurring in Jamaican children with a history of malnutrition (Jordan & Burrows, 1937 ; Evans & Arnold, 1938; Hill, 1952; Jelliffe & Stuart, 1954). Since dietary deficiency has been suggested as a contributing factor in ‘vomiting sickness’, the present study was undertaken to examine the relationship between the local diet and the acute toxicity of hypoglycin-A in rats.