Studies on hypoglycin toxicity in rats. I. Changes in hepatic ultrastructure

ABSTRACT

Hypoglycin is a toxic amino acid found in the unripe ackee fruit. The ackee is a popular item of diet in Jamaica and has been proposed as a cause of the so-called vomiting sickness. Hypoglycin is thought to act by inhibiting the oxidation of long-chain fatty acids, uncoupling oxidative phosphorylation, and interfering with gluconeogenesis. Hypoglycin was given intraperitoneally to rats in a dose of 10 mg/100 g, and samples of liver taken at hourly intervals up to 5 hr were studied with the electron microscope and compared with controls. The major ultrastructural findings in the hypoglycin-treated rats were progressive mitochondrial swelling with loss of granules and pallor of the matrix, followed by incorporation into autophagic vacuoles. These findings correlate well with the reported biochemical mechanisms.(AU)