Some Acer species like box elder (Acer negundo L.) and sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) are known as cause of atypical pasture myopathy in Europe [1]. Hypoglycin A is described as a constituent in the seeds of several members of Aceraceae and Hippocastanoideae [2]. It is a toxic amino acid. The danger for intoxication is high by ingestion of the fruits and seeds especially in autumn and possible in blossoms or in the seedlings in the spring. Veterinarians recommend removing this plants near of pastures because of this illness of horses. One question is if other animals for example squirrels, wild boar, or insects also can be damaged after consumption. Simple extraction and high performance liquid chromatography method with UV detection at room temperature were developed to measure the presence of Hypoglycin A in plant extracts. Material of various parts of different Acer species were measured. A rapid detection of Hypoglycin A by HPTLC is not possible because of the presence of Leucin and Isoleucin in the samples with similar chromatrographic properties producing false positive results [3].
[1] Hypoglycin A content in blood and urine discriminates hordes with atypical myopathy from clinically normal horses grazing on the same pasture; Bochnia M. et al. PLOS ONE 10(9): e0136785; 2015
[2] Cyclopropylamino acids of the genus acer distribution and biosynthesis; Frowden L, Pratt H Phytochemistry 1973, Vol 12
[3] Samaras and seedlings of Acer pseudoplatanus are potential sources of hypoglycin A intoxication in atypical myopathy without necessarily including clinical signs; Baise E et al. Equine Veterinary Journal 2015, 1-4