Trace Elements in Pandanus (Pandanus tectorius) from a Manganese-Enriched Wetland in Southern Guam: A Possible Lytico-Bodig Connection?

Abstract

Extremely high levels of manganese (Mn) were encountered in foliar tissue of the monocot tree Pandanus tectorius from southern Guam with values exceeding 10,000 μg/g dry weight in some wetland representatives. Historically, dried Pandanus leaves were used extensively as a source of domestic fiber in the local Chamorro culture. A possible link between the use of this plant and a neurodegenerative disease complex that once plagued the island and is symptomatically similar to the occupational disease “manganism” poses an intriguing question that merits further investigation.

Acknowledgments

This work was funded, in part, by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) through the Guam Coastal Management Program, Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans (award number NA570Z0356), and a local appropriation administered by the “Micronesian Health and Aging Studies Program” at the University of Guam.