[6177c40f]

Probably not a huge issue as long as you only eat it every so often. But I wonder about the possibility of producing varieties of pawpaw (or soursop or other related Annonas) that don't produce annonacin. Probably could be done with genetic engineering, or much more slowly with selective breeding.

Given that there are places where people consume Annonas very often, and that this may lead to alarmingly high rates of parkinsonism [1], this could be considered an effective public health intervention.

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10440304/

[Footkerchief]

The evidence we have for safety of low-level consumption doesn't look great.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7691614/

"The paucity of adequate studies, particularly related to long‐term use of A. muricata supplements, currently does not allow the establishment of a safe intake level."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10092620/

"Cognitive performance assessed with the MDRS worsens above a cumulative consumption threshold of 0.2 fruit‐years of Annonaceae fruit/juice (ie, one fruit every 5 days for 1 year) or with consumption of any quantity of Annonaceae herbal tea."

[margalabargala]

"one fruit every 5 days for 1 year" is far above what I would consider occasional consumption.

Pawpaws are not in season for very long, and do not keep well. Unless you are canning or otherwise preserving them, a dozen per year is probably a high estimate for people who live in areas where they grow.

Relatives such as the soursop are available year-round in tropical areas, but if you limit your intake to the pawpaw only, eating a handful when they are ripe each year probably won't hurt you.

I lived in Maryland near a forest with a large number of wild pawpaw trees that produced an enormous amount of fruit, and was very into foraging as a hobby, and I don't think I ever ate more than six or seven in a single season.

[jonah]

The bark and leaves are the primary sources of benzyltetrahydroisoquinolines.

[throwawaygal7]

This study is of a small island population.

[jonah]

I don't know about Parkinson's, but acetogenins[1] work by down regulating ATP production in mitochondria. This mechanism has been studied for potential applications from cancer treatment to pesticides.[2]

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetogenin

[2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_L._McLaughlin &c.