Cyclopiazonic acid is a natural contaminant of
cheese, corn, and peanuts. Due to the lack of analytical methods
for quantifying cyclopiazonic acid, the amount present in
the food supply and the potential health risks are uncertain.
Cyclopiazonic acid distributes widely in mammalian tissues,
especially skeletal muscle, and produces equally diverse cytotoxicity.
This toxicant shares many pharmacological properties
with antipsychotic drugs including catalepsy, hypothermia,
hypokinesia, ptosis, tremor, gait disturbance, sedation without
loss of righting reflex, atypical convulsion, and increased barbiturate
sleeping time. The mode of action of cyclopiazonic
acid involves its role as an inhibitor of Ca-ATPase.
