The protective effects of feeding on the hepatic ultrastructure of rats treated with hypoglycin

ABSTRACT

Hypoglycin is a toxic amino acid found in the fruit of the unripe ackee (Blighia sapida), and associated with Jamaican "vomiting sickness". It produces profound hypoglycaemia when administered to starved rats, and this is accompanied by gross mitochondrial swelling in liver cells. This ultrastructural change is reduced or absent in animals that have been allowed to feed ad libitum, provided that normal blood glucose levels are maintained. Mitochondrial swelling is not a feature of acute hypoglycaemia induced by insulin, under the conditions of this experiment.(AU)