Beta-Nitropropionic acid

β-Nitropropionic acid (3-nitropropanoic acid, BPA, 3-NPA) is a mycotoxin, a potent mitochondrial inhibitor, toxic to humans. It is produced by a number of fungi, and found widely in food, in sugar cane, as well as Japanese fungally fermented staples miso, soy sauce, katsuobushi, and some traditional Chinese medicines.
It can be caused by extreme weather, stressed crop growth conditions, as well as storage conditions (like moisture), which can give a further rise under global warming conditions.
It is found that 3-nitropropionic acid is a mitochondrial toxin and produces striatal alterations in rats similar to those observed in the brain of Huntington’s disease patients, and administration of the cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN55212-2 to rats for six consecutive days, before the 3-NPA injection, exerted preventive effects on all alterations elicited by the toxin, like mitochondrial dysfunction and lipid peroxidation, by activation of the CB1 receptor.