In many parts of the world, what Westerners would call "meat alternatives" are the main source of protein. One such product is tempeh, made from soy. A particular variety, when contaminated with a particular bacterium, can become contaminated with a potent toxin: bongkrek acid.
Bongkrek acid, like dinitrophenol and cyanide, is a mitochondrial poison.
- Log in to post comments
More like this
You've probably read about the current Salmonella outbreak. It's a fine example of what can happen when food is produced and distributed on an industrial scale---even one small contamination event can spread widely in the food supply, and there isn't much of a system in place to follow the trail…
Just as the safety of the food supply is coming under increased scrutiny we have the Castleberry Foods botulism recall, now involving a variety of brands of Hot Dog Chili Sauce and dog foods. Both have something in common you wouldn't necessarily think of at first (unless you knew about botulism).…
As Maryn McKenna and others have reported, a paper was released on Friday showing a high percentage of drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus contaminating raw, retail-available meat products. There has been a lot of media coverage of this finding--so what does the study say, and what are its…
Itching is an unpleasant sensation that drives us to scratch reflexively in an effort to remove harmful substances from our body. It's also how I get most of my physical activity for the day. Not being able to scratch an itch is intensely frustrating and many scientists have long described itch as…
Oooh. That sucks. I like tempeh. Only tempeh prepared with coconut (which would be unusual in the States) is at risk, right?
Name one terrestrial meat that is poisonous, name one plant other than lettuce that is not. Death to vegans!
Carototoxin (nerve toxin; carrots), myristicin (hallucinogen; nutmeg, dill and parsley), ptaquiloside (fiddlehead fern; leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, hemolysis; bladder and intestinal carcinogen), cyanogenic glycosides (lima beans, almonds, cassava, apples, plums, cherries...), sanguinarine (severe edema; mustard oil), hemagglutins (red cell destruction; legumes), solanine (nerve toxin; green potatoes), beta-N-oxalylamino-L-alanine (lathyrogenic; chick peas, other legumes), tomatine (nerve toxin; tomatoes), curcurbitacin (nerve toxin; courgettes, cucumber), genestein and daidzein (soy; cryptoestrogens), theobromine (chocolate; sterility), sinigrin (onions; chromsome breakage), chlorogenic acid (coffee; chromosome breakage), goitrin (hypothyrodism; cabbage, crucifers), aflatoxins (peanuts), L-alpha-amino-beta-[methylenecyclopropyl]propionic acid (lichee; hypoglycemic), phytic acid (spinach, corn, rice; chelates iron and zinc), canavanine (alfalfa sprouts; toxic arginine mimic), chaconine (neutrotoxin), vicine (broad bean; hemolytic)... and cancer from benzpyrene (broccoli), safrole, hydrazines (mushrooms), psoralen (photocarcinogen; cellery, parsely, parsnip), quercetin, quinones, pyrrolizidines (comfrey), divicine, isothiocyanates, gossypol, sterculic acid (okra)... and shrimp are loaded with arsenic.
Add nerve toxin acrylamide from high temp-cooked starch + protein. Avoid rhubarb leaves.
Quite a list, Al.
Bangkrek acid looks so harmless...like a fluffy greasy kitten. Anyone know how it interferes with mitochondia function?
Seriously? Clostridium botulinum, E. coli, heterocyclic amines, N-nitroso compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxin ...
(Also, shrimp is obviously not a vegetable, and arsenic is found in many if not all meats).
Come on Uncle Al, if someone tried to make an argument about a man made toxin you would be the first to jump in with the toxicity is in the dose argument. Sure plants produce toxins, they don't want animals to eat them, but it is the dose that matters. By the way, aren't shrimp meat.
Actually we have used bongkrekic acid (I assume that's the same as bongkrek acid) in our laboratory experiments. Added to mitochondria and it completely abolishes the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT). Added to cells it prevents toxicity by many agents. Mechanistically, it binds to adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT), which is required for ADP/ATP transport in mitochondria. ANT was believed to be required for the MPT, but recent reports have questioned this.