Azetidine-2-carboxylic acid in the food chain

Azetidine-2-carboxylic acid (Aze) 1 is a toxic and teratogenic non-protein amino acid found in roots of sugar beets and table beets. Aze 1 is misincorporated into proteins in place of proline 2 in numerous species, including human. Herein, we report the presence of Aze 1 in three sugar beet byproducts fed to livestock: shredded sugar beet pulp, pelleted sugar beet pulp, and sugar beet molasses.