19/06/2019
Litchi Fruit & AES in Muzaffarpur Bihar : In 2012-13, a two member team headed by virologist Dr. T. Jacob John confirmed a toxin named ' Methylene Cyclopropyl Glycine'(MCPG) found in litchi fruit that was responsible for causing the 'hypoglycemic encephalopathy'(low blood sugar level). Early morning, there is normal tendency for blood sugar level to dip,after several hours of no food intake.Undernourished children who had gone to sleep without a meal at night develop hypoglycemia.The brain needs normal level of glucose in the blood.The liver is unable to supply the need.So the alternative pathway of glucose synthesis, called fatty acid oxidation,is turned on.But that pathway is blocked by MCPG. Litchi fruit does not cause any harm in well nourished children,but only in undernourished children who had eaten litchi fruit the previous day and had gone to bed on empty stomach.
