thiaminase

Nardoo must be prepared properly before consumption to destroy the thiaminase.

It is possible that this led to their death due to the extremely high levels of thiaminase contained in Nardoo.

Many ferns also contain the enzyme thiaminase, which breaks down thiamine.

Could Burke and Wills have died of thiaminase poisoning?

The sporocarp can be toxic due to high levels of thiaminase, which destroys thiamine.

This enzyme was previously known as thiaminase II.

These contain an enzyme (thiaminase) within their flesh which binds vitamin B, leading to deficiency.

Unbeknown to the explorers, ngardu sporocarps contain thiaminase which depletes the body of vitamin B (thiamin).

However, the sporocarps contain toxic levels of thiaminase, so careful preparation methods must be used in order for the nardoo to be safe for consumption.

It has also been suggested that the toxin may have thiaminase activity (i.e. it degrades thiamine, also known as vitamin B1).

It is also known as the etiology of cerebrocortical necrosis of cattle and polioencephalomalasia of sheep eating thiaminase containing plants.

Some ferns have been reported to contain carcinogens and others contain thiaminase, which robs the body of its vitamin B. This fern is generally not edible.

Fabre B, Geay B, Beaufils P. Thiaminase activity in equisetum arvense and its extracts.

Some of the species used as feeder fish (goldfish and rosy red minnows) contain high quantities of thiaminase, an enzyme that destroys vitamin B and when fed in large quantities cause nutritional imbalances.

The most common cause is high-carbohydrate feeds, leading to the overgrowth of thiaminase-producing bacteria, but dietary ingestion of thiaminase (e.g., in bracken fern), or inhibition of thiamine absorption by high sulfur intake are also possible.

The larvae of a wild silk worm Anaphe venata are being consumed in a rain forest district of Nigeria as a supplemental protein nutrition, and the heat resistant thiaminase in it is causing an acute seasonal cerebellar ataxia.