@article{ref1,
title="Presence of l-canavanine in Hedysarum alpinum seeds and its potential role in the death of Chris McCandless",
journal="Wilderness and environmental medicine",
year="2015",
author="Krakauer, Jon and Long, Ying and Kolbert, Andrew and Thanedar, Shri and Southard, Jonathan",
volume="26",
number="1",
pages="36-42",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: For the past 2 decades there has been vigorous disagreement over the purported toxicity of Hedysarum alpinum seeds, and whether the consumption of such seeds was a factor in the 1992 death of Chris McCandless, the subject of the book Into the Wild. Our objective was to confirm or disprove the presence of L-canavanine (a nonprotein amino acid known to induce systemic lupuslike symptoms in humans) in H alpinum seeds. <br><br>METHODS: Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis of H alpinum seeds was performed. <br><br>RESULTS: Our analysis confirmed the presence of L-canavanine in H alpinum seeds and demonstrated that it is a significant component of the seeds, with a concentration of 1.2% (weight/weight), roughly half of that found in Canavalia ensiformis. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The data led us to conclude it is highly likely that the consumption of H alpinum seeds contributed to the death of Chris McCandless.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1080-6032",
doi="10.1016/j.wem.2014.08.014",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wem.2014.08.014"
}