A study of known excitotoxic compounds and isolated nonprotein amino acids from cycads

xcitotoxicity may be a common mechanism of neuronal cell death underlying many forms of neurological dysfunction. Specifically, epidemiology studies indicate an environmental cause of the unique neurodegenerative disease of high prevalence among particular ethnic groups in the western Pacific. Based on well-documented toxicity and traditional utilization as source of dietary starch and medicine, tropical cycads have been suggested to be an etiological factor in this neurological disorder. This project was designed to provide evidence to either lend credence to or invalidate these hypotheses. The excitotoxicity of the cycad toxin,...