Comparative toxicities of mimosine and some chemically related compounds to mouse bone marrow cells in liquid culture.

Mimosine, a plant amino acid which is toxic in mammals, was shown to be a potent inhibitor of incorporation of [3H)thymidine in mouse bone marrow cells in liquid culture (> 70 % inhibition at a concentration of 2 x 10-4 M). To determine the parts of the molecule responsible for the inhibitory mechanism the effects of 13 chemically related compounds were examined in this system.