Akee fruit

A Metabolite of Hypoglycin from Akee Fruit Inhibits Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase... 

FIGURE 24.14 The conversion of hypoglycin from akee fruit to a form that inhibits acyl-CoA dehydrogenase. 

What would you expect to be the systemic metabolic effects of consuming unripened akee fruit ... 

A 27-year-old Jamaican man developed jaundice, pruritus, intermittent diarrhea, and right upper quadrant abdominal pain after chronic ingestion of akee fruit. Liver biopsy showed centrilobular zonal necrosis and cholestasis. There was no evidence of another... 

Hypoglycin A is present in unripe akee fruit and produces severe hypoglycemia when ingested. 

The unripened fruit of the akee tree contains hypoglycin, a rare amino acid (Figure 24.14). Metabolism of hypoglycin yields methylenecydopropylacetyl-CoA (MCPA-CoA). Acyl-CoA dehydrogenase will accept MCPA-CoA as a substrate,... 

Jamaican vomiting sickness is caused by a toxin (hypoglycin) from the unripe fruit of the akee tree. This toxin inhibits an acyl CoA dehydrogenase of P-oxidation consequently, more glucose must be oxidized to compensate for the decreased ability to use fatty adds as a fuel, and severe hypoglycemia can occur. co-Oxidation of fatty acids is increased, and dicarboxylic acids are excreted in the urine. Unwary children are usually the victims of this frequently fatal disease. 

The unripe fruit of the akee tree produces a toxin, hypoglycin, which causes a condition known as Jamaican vomiting sickness. The victims of the toxin are usually unwary children who eat this unripe fruit and develop a severe hypoglycemia, which is often fatal. 

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