Tags: Disease.
Jamaican vomiting sickness is an acute illness caused by the toxin hypoglycin A which is present in unripened fruit of the ackee tree. Hypoglycin A is present in the unripe arilli at levels of over 1000 ppm which falls to less than 0.1 ppm in the fully ripened arilli. Hypoglycin B found only in the inedible seed is believed to be a derivative of hypoglycin A. Its concentration rises from 0.4 mg/g to 3.3 mg/g as the fruit ripens.