Lathyrism

Last updated
Lathyrism
Specialty Toxicology
Symptoms Weakness, fatigue, paralysis of the legs, atrophy of leg muscles, and skeletal deformities
Usual onsetGradual
DurationPermanent
Types Neurolathyrism
Osteolathyrism
Angiolathyrism
CausesOverconsumption of Legumes containing ODAP (neurolathyrism) or beta-aminopropionitrile (angio- and osteolathyrism)
Diagnostic method Based on symptoms and diet
Treatment Supportive care
FrequencyRare

Lathyrism is a condition caused by eating certain legumes of the genus Lathyrus . There are three types of lathyrism: neurolathyrism , osteolathyrism , and angiolathyrism , all of which are incurable, differing in their symptoms and in the body tissues affected. [1]

Contents

Neurolathyrism is the type associated with the consumption of legumes in the genus Lathyrus that contain the toxin oxalyldiaminopropionic acid (ODAP). ODAP ingestion results in motor neuron death. The result is paralysis and muscle atrophy of the lower limbs. Osteolathyrism, a different type of lathyrism, affects the connective tissues, not the motor neurons. [2] Osteolathyrism results from the ingestion of Lathyrus odoratus seeds (sweet peas), and is often referred to as odoratism. It is caused by a different toxin, beta-aminopropionitrile, which affects the linking of the subunits of collagen, a major structural protein found in connective tissue. A third type of lathyrism is angiolathyrism, which is similar to osteolathyrism in its mechanism, employing the toxin beta-aminopropionitrile. The blood vessels are affected, as opposed to bone.

Types

Neurolathyrism

Neurolathyrism is caused by the consumption of large quantities of Lathyrus grain, specifically the grains in the genus that contain the glutamate analogue neurotoxin ODAP (also known as β-N-oxalyl-amino-L-alanine, or BOAA). Lathyrus sativus (also known as grass pea, chickling pea, kesari dal, or almorta) and to a lesser degree with Lathyrus cicera , Lathyrus ochrus and Lathyrus clymenum [3]

Osteolathyrism

Osteolathyrism affects the bones and connecting tissues, instead of the nervous system. It is a skeletal disorder. It is caused by the toxin BAPN, which inhibits the copper-containing enzyme lysyl oxidase, responsible for cross-linking tropocollagen and proelastin. BAPN is also a metabolic product of a compound present in the sprouted seeds of grasspea, pea and lentil. [4]

Angiolathyrism

Angiolathyrism affects the collagen in blood capillaries. It is also caused by the toxin beta-aminopropionitrile.[ citation needed ]

Prevention

Eating the grasspea with legumes having high concentrations of sulphur-based amino acids reduces the risk of lathyrism if such grain is available. Some states in India have banned the sale of Lathyrus seed in order to prevent its consumption, which in turn lessens the possibility of lathyrism in the general population. [5]

History

The first mentioned intoxication goes back to ancient India. Hippocrates mentions a neurological disorder in 46 B.C. in Greece caused by Lathyrus seed. [6] Indian medical classic Bhavaprakasha dating from the sixteenth century mentions it, and even its etiology as kesari dal. [7]

During the Spanish War of Independence against Napoleon, grasspea served as a famine food. This was the subject of one of Francisco de Goya's famous aquatint prints titled Gracias a la Almorta ("Thanks to the Grasspea"), depicting poor people surviving on a porridge made from grasspea flour, one of them lying on the floor, already crippled by it.[ citation needed ]

During the Second World War, on the order of Colonel I. Murgescu, commandant of the Vapniarka concentration camp in Transnistria, the detainees - most of them Jews - were fed nearly exclusively with grasspea. Consequently, they became ill from lathyrism. [8]

Disorders that are clinically similar are konzo [9] and Lytico-bodig disease.[ citation needed ] Konzo means "tied legs" in the Yaka language, and is common in some African people[ specify ] who are consuming diets poor in protein. The possible molecule causing this problem is thiocyanate, which stimulates AMPA receptors. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bean</span> Seed of one of several genera of the plant family Fabaceae

A bean is the seed of any plant in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying, but fresh beans are also sold. Most beans are traditionally soaked and boiled, but they can be cooked in many different ways, including frying and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes throughout the world. The unripe seedpods of some varieties are also eaten whole as green beans or edamame, but fully ripened beans contain toxins like phytohemagglutinin and require cooking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pea</span> Species of flowering plant with edible seeds in the family Fabaceae

Pea is a pulse, vegetable or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name Pisum sativum in 1753. Some sources now treat it as Lathyrus oleraceus; however the need and justification for the change is disputed. Each pod contains several seeds (peas), which can have green or yellow cotyledons when mature. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and develop from the ovary of a (pea) flower. The name is also used to describe other edible seeds from the Fabaceae such as the pigeon pea, the cowpea, the seeds from several species of Lathyrus and is used as a compound form for example Sturt's desert pea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrinkle</span> Crease on otherwise smooth surface

A wrinkle, also known as a rhytid, is a fold, ridge or crease in an otherwise smooth surface, such as on skin or fabric. Skin wrinkles typically appear as a result of ageing processes such as glycation, habitual sleeping positions, loss of body mass, sun damage, or temporarily, as the result of prolonged immersion in water. Age wrinkling in the skin is promoted by habitual facial expressions, aging, sun damage, smoking, poor hydration, and various other factors. In humans, it can also be prevented to some degree by avoiding excessive solar exposure and through diet.

<i>Lathyrus sativus</i> Species of plant in the pea family

Lathyrus sativus, also known as grass pea, cicerchia, blue sweet pea, chickling pea, chickling vetch, Indian pea, white pea and white vetch, is a legume commonly grown for human consumption and livestock feed in Asia and East Africa. It is a particularly important crop in areas that are prone to drought and famine, and is thought of as an 'insurance crop' as it produces reliable yields when all other crops fail. The seeds contain a neurotoxin that causes lathyrism, a neurodegenerative disease, if eaten as a primary protein source for a prolonged period.

<i>Vicia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the bean family Fabaceae

Vicia is a genus of over 240 species of flowering plants that are part of the legume family (Fabaceae), and which are commonly known as vetches. Member species are native to Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. Some other genera of their subfamily Faboideae also have names containing "vetch", for example the vetchlings (Lathyrus) or the milk-vetches (Astragalus). The lentils are included in genus Vicia, and were formerly classified in genus Lens. The broad bean is sometimes separated in a monotypic genus Faba; although not often used today, it is of historical importance in plant taxonomy as the namesake of the order Fabales, the Fabaceae and the Faboideae. The tribe Vicieae in which the vetches are placed is named after the genus' current name. The true peas (Pisum) are among the closest living relatives of vetches.

Neurolathyrism, is a neurological disease of humans, caused by eating certain legumes of the genus Lathyrus. This disease is mainly associated with the consumption of Lathyrus sativus and to a lesser degree with Lathyrus cicera, Lathyrus ochrus and Lathyrus clymenum containing the toxin ODAP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodium channel</span> Transmembrane protein allowing sodium ions in and out

Sodium channels are integral membrane proteins that form ion channels, conducting sodium ions (Na+) through a cell's membrane. They belong to the superfamily of cation channels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collagen, type XI, alpha 2</span> Protein found in humans

Collagen alpha-2(XI) chain is a protein that in humans is encoded by the COL11A2 gene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sweet pea</span> Species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae

The sweet pea, Lathyrus odoratus, is a flowering plant in the genus Lathyrus in the family Fabaceae (legumes), native to Sicily, southern Italy and the Aegean Islands.

Lytico-bodig (also Lytigo-bodig) disease, Guam disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-parkinsonism-dementia complex (ALS-PDC) is a neurodegenerative disease of uncertain etiology endemic to the Chamorro people of the island of Guam in Micronesia. Lytigo and bodig are Chamorro language words for two different manifestations of the same condition. ALS-PDC, a term coined by Asao Hirano and colleagues in 1961, reflects its resemblance to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.

β-Methylamino-<small>L</small>-alanine Chemical compound

β-Methylamino-L-alanine, or BMAA, is a non-proteinogenic amino acid produced by cyanobacteria. BMAA is a neurotoxin. Its potential role in various neurodegenerative disorders is the subject of scientific research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konzo</span> Disease due to malnutrition and high dietary cyanide intake

Konzo is an epidemic paralytic disease occurring among hunger-stricken rural populations in Africa where a diet dominated by insufficiently processed cassava results in simultaneous malnutrition and high dietary cyanide intake. Konzo was first described by Giovanni Trolli in 1938 who compiled the observations from eight doctors working in the Kwango area of the Belgian Congo.

Osteolathyrism, sometimes referred to as odoratism, is a form of the disease Lathyrism. The disease results from the ingestion of Lathyrus odoratus seeds. The toxin found in the sweet peas is (beta-aminopropionitrile), which affects the linking of collagen, a protein of connective tissues. The condition results in damage to bone and mesenchymal connective tissues. Osteolathyrism occurs in people in combination with neurolathyrism and angiolathyrism in areas where famine demands reliance on a crop with known detrimental effects. It occurs in cattle and horses with diets overreliant upon the grass pea. Prominent symptoms include skeletal deformities and bone pain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxalyldiaminopropionic acid</span> Chemical compound

Oxalyldiaminopropionic acid (ODAP) is a structural analogue of the neurotransmitter glutamate found in the grass pea Lathyrus sativus. It is the neurotoxin responsible for the motor neuron degeneration syndrome lathyrism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gachas</span> Andalusian staple dish

Gachas is an ancestral basic dish of central and southern Spain. It is a gruel whose main ingredients are flour, water, olive oil, garlic, paprika and salt.

Hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy (HSAN) or hereditary sensory neuropathy (HSN) is a condition used to describe any of the types of this disease which inhibit sensation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crop wild relative</span> Wild plant closely related to a domesticated plant

A crop wild relative (CWR) is a wild plant closely related to a domesticated plant. It may be a wild ancestor of the domesticated (cultivated) plant or another closely related taxon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aminopropionitrile</span> Chemical compound

Aminopropionitrile, also known as β-aminopropionitrile (BAPN), is an organic compound with both amine and nitrile functional groups. It is a colourless liquid. The compound occurs naturally and is of interest in the biomedical community.

Angiolathyrism is a form of lathyrism disease. It is mainly caused the consumption of Lathyrus sativus and to a lesser degree by Lathyrus cicera, Lathyrus ochrus and Lathyrus clymenum containing the toxin ODAP. The main chemical responsible is β-Aminopropionitrile, which prevents collagen cross-linking, thus making the blood vessel, especially the tunica media, weak. This can result in Cystic medial necrosis or a picture similar to Marfan syndrome. The damaged vessels are at an increased risk of dissection.

Lathyrism is a class of neurological disease of humans.

References

  1. "Lathyrus". AACC. The American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC). Archived from the original on 19 June 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  2. Ahmad, Kamal (1982). Adverse Effects of Foods. Springer, Massachusetts: Springer US. pp. 71–2. doi:10.1007/978-1-4613-3359-3_8. ISBN   978-1-4613-3359-3.
  3. "Medical problems caused by plants: Lathyrism" Archived 2012-02-04 at the Wayback Machine at Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine online database
  4. 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.
  5. Singh, S. P.; Bhawnani, Dhiraj; Parihar, Ajit; Verma, Nirmal (15 September 2016). "An epidemiological study on incidence and determinants of Lathyrism". The Journal of Community Health Management. 3 (3): 113–122. doi:10.5958/2394-2738.2016.00025.X. ISSN   2394-2738. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  6. Mark V. Barrow; Charles F. Simpson; Edward J. Miller (1974). "Lathyrism: A Review". The Quarterly Review of Biology. 49 (2): 101–128. doi:10.1086/408017. JSTOR   2820941. PMID   4601279. S2CID   33451792.
  7. Lal SB (October 1949). "Lathyrism in Bihar". Ind Med Gaz. 84 (10): 468–472. PMC   5189574 . PMID   29014658.
  8. isurvived.org: The Holocaust in Romania Under the Antonescu Government, by Marcu Rozen.
  9. 1 2 Spencer PS (August 1999). "IFood toxins, ampa receptors, and motor neuron diseases" . Drug Metab Rev. 31 (3): 561–587. doi:10.1081/dmr-100101936. PMID   10461541.