Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA [2013] Nov 11 [Epub ahead of print] (A.A.Inamdar, M.M.Hossain, A.I.Bernstein, G.W.Miller, J.R.Richardson, J.W.Bennett)
Octenol (1-octen-3-ol), which is commonly known as mushroom alcohol,,is produced by several plants and fungi. For information go too Octenol. In Drosophila melanogaster (the common fruit fly) Octenol reduces the levels of dopamine, the substance whose deficiency causes Parkinson's Disease.
Although it has not yet conclusively been proven to have caused Parkinson's Disease in humans, further experiments in human cells revealed that Octenol interfered with two genes involved in the creation of dopamine - the human plasma membrane dopamine transporter (DAT) and the human VMAT ortholog (VMAT2). This demonstrates that 1-octen-3-ol exerts toxicity via disruption of dopamine homeostasis and so may represent a naturally occurring cause of Parkinsonism. Octenol can often be inhaled by humans after being produced in damp, mouldy or water damaged buildings.
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