Lathyrism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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|---|---|---|
| Thanks to the Grasspea Flour, an aquatint print by Goya showing the effects of Lathyrism | ||
| ICD-10 | T62. | |
| ICD-9 | 988.2 | |
| DiseasesDB | 32679 | |
| MeSH | C21.613.756.558 | |
Lathyrism or Neurolathyrism is a neurological disease of humans and domestic animals, caused by eating certain legumes of the genus Lathyrus. This problem is mainly associated with Lathyrus sativus (also known as Grass pea, Khesari Dhal or Almorta) and to a lesser degree with Lathyrus cicera, Lathyrus ochrus and Lathyrus clymenum. [1]
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[edit] Symptoms
The consumption of large quantities of Lathyrus grain containing high concentrates of the neurotoxin beta-oxalyl-L-alpha,beta-diaminopropionic acid (or ODAP) causes paralysis, characterized by lack of strength in or inability to move the lower limbs.
[edit] Prevalence
This disease is prevalent in some areas of Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India and Nepal,[2] and affects more men than women. The reason for this is unclear, female hormones have been suggested to offer a measure of protection, but also less food allocation and less oxidatively stressful activity [work] are plausible.
[edit] Causes
The cause of the disease has been attributed to the neurotoxin beta-oxalyl-L-alpha,beta-diaminopropionic acid (ODAP) which acts as a structural analogue of the neurotransmitter glutamate.
[edit] Prevention
Recent research suggests that sulfur amino acids have a protective effect against the toxicity of ODAP.[3]
Food preparation is also an important factor. Toxic amino acids are readily soluble in water and can be leached. Bacterial (lactic acid) and fungal (tempeh) fermentation is useful to reduce ODAP content. Moist heat (boiling, steaming) denatures proteinase inhibitors which otherwise add to the toxic effect of raw grasspea through depletion of protective sulfur amino acids.
The underlying cause for excessive consumption of grasspea is a lack of alternative food sources. This is a consequence of poverty and political conflict. The prevention of lathyrism is therefore a socio-economic challenge.
[edit] Historical occurrence
During the post-war period in Spain, there were several outbreaks of lathyrism, caused by the shortage of food, which led people to consume excessive amounts of Almorta flour.[4]
There had been a previous occurrence during Spain War of Independence against Napoleon, in Madrid. This event was the subject of one of Francisco de Goya's famous aquatint prints titled Gracias a la Almorta ("Thanks to the Grasspea Flour"), depicting victims of Lathyrism.
In the film 'Ashes' [English title] by Andrzej Wajda based on the novel 'Lost army' [English title] by Stephen Zeromsky spanning the period 1798-1812, a horse is poisened by grain from a Spanish village. The footage of the horse losing control of its hindlegs suggests that it was fed with Almortas. The scene with the horse falling down a steep cliff is very graphic.
[edit] Modern occurrence
In Spain, a seed mixture known as comuña[5] consisting of Lathyrus sativus, L. cicera, Vicia sativa and V. ervilia provides a potent mixture of toxic amino acids to poison monogastric (single stomached) animals. Particularly the toxin beta-cyanoalanine from seeds of Vicia sativa enhances the toxicity of such a mixture through its inhibition of sulfur amino acid metabolism [conversion of methionine to cysteine leading to excretion of cystathionine in urine] and hence depletion of protective reduced thiols. Its use for sheep does not pose any lathyrism problems if doses do not exceed 50 percent of the ration.[6]
[edit] Related conditions
A related disease has been identified and named Osteolathyrism, caused by the toxin beta-amino-propionitrile (BAPN) because it affects the bones and connecting tissues, instead the nervous system. It is a skeletal disorder characterized by hernias, dissecting aortic aneurysms, lameness of the hind legs, exostoses, and kyphoscoliosis and other skeletal deformities, apparently as the result of defective aging of collagen tissue. The cause of this disease is attributed to beta-aminopropionitrile (BAPN), which inhibits the copper-containing enzyme lysyl oxidase, responsible for cross-linking procollagen and proelastin. BAPN is also a metabolic product of a compound present in sprouts of grasspea, pea and lentils.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.itg.be/itg/DistanceLearning/LectureNotesVandenEndenE/47_Medical_problems_caused_by_plantsp11.htm "Medical problems caused by plants: Lathyrism" at Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine online database
- ^ Spencer PS, Ludolph AC, Kisby GE (July 1993). "Neurologic diseases associated with use of plant components with toxic potential". Environmental Research 62 (1): pp. 106-13. ISSN 0013-9351 PubMed.
- ^ Sriram, K.; Shankar,S.K.; Boyd,M.R.; Ravindranath, V. (1998)Thiol Oxidation and Loss of Mitochondrial Complex I Precede Excitatory Amino Acid-Mediated Neurodegeneration. The Journal of Neuroscience, 18(24):10287–10296
- ^ http://www.historiacocina.com/gourmets/venenos/almortas.htm AZCOYTIA, Carlos (2006): "Historia de la Almorta or el veneno que llegó con el hambre tras la Guerra Civil Española". HistoriaCocina
- ^ The etymological origin of this name is from "común" (common) in its meaning of mixture, referring to the mix of seeds obtained when cleaning the grain and which contaminate the main grain, generally wheat.
- ^ J.E. Hernández Bermejo, J. León (1994). Neglected crops 1492 from a different perspective. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 92-5-103217-3.
- ^ COHN, D.F. (1995) "Are other systems apart from the nervous system involved in human lathyrism?" in Lathyrus sativus and Human Lathyrism: Progress and Prospects. Ed. Yusuf H, Lambein F. University of Dhaka. Dhaka pp. 101-2.
