Affecting mostly newbornes?
I've forgotten all my college chemistry. Godzilla will know. Check out the last paragraph, it may be meaningful, or not:
In maple syrup urine disease, the odor is described as "caramel-like," "malty," or like "maple syrup."
It was determined that 4,5-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-2[5H]-furanone (sotolone), a well-known flavor impact compound also present in fenugreek, lovage and buckwheat honey13, is responsible for the characteristic odor in the urine of affected individuals. The common name given to the disease is thus quite appropriate, as maple syrup also contains sotolone.*
Ingestion of fenugreek (a leguminous herb cultivated in southern Europe, northern Africa and India) resulted in a false suspicion of maple syrup urine disease when the doctor noticed the characteristic smell of the patient's urine. It has been reported where the patient was given fenugreek tea15 or a folk remedy containing the plant.
*Sotolon, also known as sotolone and fenugreek lactone, is an extremely powerful aroma compound with the typical smell of fenugreek and maple syrup.
The GC-MS analyses of ethanolic extracts from hairy roots revealed the presence of two important compounds: sotolone (1.2% of the volatile fraction) and 3-amino-4,5-dimethyl-2(5H)-furanone (17% of the volatile fraction). These results point out that biotechnological production of sotolone in bioreactors is possible.