Hypoglycin A content in the aril, seeds, and husks of ackee fruit at various stages of ripeness.

Abstract

Recently, hypoglycin A (HG-A), a natural toxin, was detected in canned ackee fruit. To determine the source of contamination, the HG-A content in the ackee fruit components (aril, seeds, and husks) at various stages of ripeness was determined by a method using an amino acid analyzer. HG-A concentrations in the unripe ackee fruit components were 939, 711, and 41.6 mg/100 g of seed, aril, and husk components, respectively. Analysis of the ripe fruit components showed that HG-A in the seed decreased to 269 mg/100 g and remained unchanged in the husk while the concentrations in the edible ripe aril decreased below the detection limit of 1.2 mg/100 g.