Detection of toxic methylenecyclopropylglycine and hypoglycin A in litchi aril of three Chinese cultivars

Abstract

As a subtropical fruit with high commercial values, litchi is also a source of methylenecyclcopropylglycine (MCPG) and hypoglycin A (HGA), which could cause hypoglycemia and fatal encephalopathy in human. In this work, a quantitative method was developed well to detect MCPG and HGA present in litchi aril of different cultivars. Method validation was evaluated well by linearity, recovery, precision and sensitivity. Among three cultivars, ‘Feizixiao’ contained the highest toxin level with 0.60–0.83 mg kg−1 of MCPG and 10.66–14.46 mg kg−1 of HGA, followed by ‘Huaizhi’ with 0.08–0.12 mg kg−1 of MCPG and 0.63–1.54 mg kg−1 of HGA, and ‘Nuomici’ with 0.09–0.11 mg kg−1 of MCPG and 0.35–0.91 mg kg−1 of HGA. The toxin levels were highly associated with litchi cultivar and storage time. These findings can provide new knowledge to help to recommend the safe consumption of fresh litchi based on human health.