title: Trace elements in Pandanus (Pandanus tectorius) from a manganese-enriched wetland in Southern Guam: a possible Lytico-Bodig connection?
abstract: Extremely high levels of manganese (Mn) were encountered in foliar tissue of the monocot tree Pandanus tectorius from southern Guam with values exceeding 10,000 microg/g dry weight in some wetland representatives. Historically, dried Pandanus leaves were used extensively as a source of domestic fiber in the local Chamorro culture. A possible link between the use of this plant and a neurodegenerative disease complex that once plagued the island and is symptomatically similar to the occupational disease "manganism" poses an intriguing question that merits further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Water and Environmental Research Institute of the Western Pacific, University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam. gdenton@uguam.uog.edu
authors.forename: Gary R W
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Denton
authors.forename: H Galt
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Siegrist
authors.forename: Jeanette P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Jano-Edwards
mesh_terms: D019353:Endemic Diseases; D006141:Guam / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008345:Manganese / Q000032:analysis*; D020149:Manganese Poisoning / Q000209:etiology*; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced; D031673:Pandanaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry*; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D008345:Manganese