Maize based diets and possible neurobehavioural after-effects among some populations in the world |
| |
Authors: | M Ernandes M La Guardia S Giammanco |
| |
Institution: | (1) Istituto di Fisiologia e Nutrizione Umana, Facoltà di Farmacia, Università di Palermo, via Augusto Elia, 3, 90127 Palermo, Italy |
| |
Abstract: | Maize is a cereal particularly lacking in tryptophan, which is the precursor of serotonin, an important neurotransmitter.
Altough complementary foods may eliminate tryptophan deficiency, serotonin deficiency may often continue to exist because
of competition made by other Large Neutral Amino Acids (LNAA) against tryptophan for neuron access, since they use the same
carrier to cross the blood-brain barrier. Thus serotonin synthesis depends on two variables: the amount of tryptophan and
the trp/LNAA ratio (R). “R” is lowest for common maize, low for beans and, as a rule, for most vegetable foods, higher for
meat. So, when maize is the preponderant food in the meal, the “R” value lowers and so in parallel serotonin synthesis does.
Serotonin deficiency involves several behavioural consequences, such as the tendency towards aggressive behaviour or the religious
fanaticism. Among native american populations, these consequences appear, as a rule, positively correlated with maize alimentary
dependence (Aztecs appear as those who greatly suffered from serotonin deficiency). In the world these are thinkable for some
african populations (i.e. Zulu) or european (i.e. Balkan peoples). |
| |
Keywords: | Maize Serotonin Aggressive behaviour Cannibalism Fanaticism |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|