What is lathyrism?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
January 14, 2003
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
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The grasspea (Lathyrus sativus Linnaeus) is a drought tolerant legume thought native to North Africa. It is widely grown in rain-poor regions with marginal soils. Grasspea has a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria and improves soil for other crops. The plants are generally raised as forage.
According to Grela, Studzinski, and Matras, the seeds contain 20 to 32 percent protein, but they also contain a number of antinutritional compounds known as lathyrogens. Lathyrogens are neurotoxic amino acids. Consumed in large amounts during times of drought, a toxic syndrome, lathyrism, develops.
The primary toxin, 3-N-oxalyl-L-2,3-diaminopropionic acid or ß-ODAP was discovered in 1964. ß-ODAP is insidious; it hyper-excites the neurons causing spastic movements of the legs and leads to paralysis--neurolathyrism.
Lathyrism is not simply a paralytic syndrome, angiolathyrism causes sudden death. The toxin changes the elasticity of the aorta. Aneurisms (weak ballooning in the arteries) develop and burst. Osteolathyrism affects skeletal development, cartilages and bones grow abnormally leaving the body deformed. Children fed grasspea never grow correctly and their brains do not develop. ("Antinutritional factors in seeds of Lathyrus sativus cultivated in Poland", Lathyrus, Lathyrism Newsletter 2, 2001)
There is no cure for lathyrism. Farmers raising this forage plant know all the tragic results of consuming the seeds of grasspea. And, yet, during extended droughts, grasspea is the single plant still green in the fields. People with marginal croplands are left with the choice--starvation or the risk of lathyrism. Perhaps worse, is making that choice for one's child.
The University of Pennsylvania has posted a photograph of grasspea. To view a close-up of the mature dry plant, click on the link:
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/faminefood/images/Lathyrus_sativus_North_Gonder.jpg
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
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