Beta-Methylamino-L-Alanine (bMAA)

BMAA is a non-proteinogenic amino acid produced by cyanobacteria. BMAA is produced by cyanobacteria in marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments. In cultured non-nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, BMAA production increases in nitrogen depleted medium. BMAA has been found in aquatic organisms and in plants with cyanobacterial symbionts such as certain lichens, the floating fern Azolla, the leaf petioles of the tropical flowering plant Gunnera, cycads as well as in animals that eat the fleshy covering of cycad seeds, including flying foxes. The toxin can be detected via several laboratory methods, including liquid chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, amino acid analyzer, capillary electrophoresis and NMR spectroscopy. BMAA consists of an alpha carbon with a carboxyl and amino group with a methyl amino side chain. This non-proteinogenic amino acid is classified as a polar base.