• Î .
A,
Howard
J. L.
Simonsen
and L. A.
P.
Ander on.\859
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.. ..
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1145.
A PRELIMINARY NOTE
ON
LATHYRISM
BY
ALBERT HOWARD,JOHN LIONEL SIMONSEN,
AND
L.
A. P.
ANDERSON,
(An investigation under
the
auspices
oj the
Indian ResearchFund Association.)
[Received
for
publication, December
9,
1922.]
IN
view
of the
recent publication
by
Acton
and
Chopra(l)
of a
paper, entitled
The Production and Pharmacological Action
of
KhesariAmine,
it
appears desirable
to
place on record
a
short preliminary noteof
an
investigation which we have undertaken with
the
object
of
deter-mining the cause of the disease known
as
lathyrism.According
to
Stockman(2)
and
Dilling(3),
the
grain
of
Khesari(Laihyrus
sativus
contains
an
alkaloid possessing poisonous properties.Our first experiments therefore were made with the object of isolating
an
alkaloid from this seed.Very careful tests
on
different samples showed that, contrary
to the
statements
of
these investigators,
the
grain from
L.
sativm
was
quitefree from
any
trace
of
alkaloid.
In
view
of
these results
it
occurredto
us
that possibly
an
alkaloid developed
in the
grain
on
storage*
*
So far we
have been unable
to
detect
any
difference
in
samples
of
grain storedunder varying conditions,
but the
experimenta
are not yet
completed.
858
A Preliminary Note on Lathyrism.
especially during the monsoon. So far the results obtained have beennegative.It was suggested by one of us (A. H.) that the seeds of a weed,apparently
Vicia sativa
L., * (known in North Bihar as
akta)
whichoccurred in all the cultures raised from bazaar seed by
Khesari
obtainedfrom many localities in India where lathyrism is common, should beconsidered. A chemical examination revealed the presence of a baseor a mixture of bases which responded to the ordinary tests foralkaloids. Other leguminous weeds besides
aleta
occur in the
khesari
crop.
These are being grown in pure culture and their seeds willbe studied. The various unit species in
Lathyrus
sativus
are also beingstudied.The chemical constituents of
Vicia sativa
have already beenthoroughly investigated. Ritthausen(4) many years ago showedthat it contained a base to which he gave the name vicine. He furthershowed that it was a glucoside yielding on acid hydrolysis a sugar and anew base divicine. Subsequently Levene and Senior(5) have shown thatdivicine is identical with 2:5-diaminotetrahydropyrimid-4:6-dione. Itmay also be mentioned that Bertrand and his collaborators (6) haveisolated from
Vicia sativa
a cyanogenetic glucoside vicianin, which isclosely related to amygdalin.It appeared to us possible that the base vicine, or its hydrolyticproduct divicine, might be physiologically active especially as it has beenobserved by Dox and Yoder(7) that somewhat closely related bodies,various alkyl benzyl barbituric acids possess markedly poisonous proper-
ties.
A quantity of divicine hydrochloride has been prepared and isnow being examined pharmacologically.In addition to vicine, the seeds occurring with
L.
sativus
appear tocontain other bases which are under investigation.We hope in a subsequent paper to describe in detail the variouspharmacological, botanical, and chemical experiments which are inprogress.
After our work on
Vicia sativa
had commenced, we discovered that Dr. JahindraNath Sen had independently come to the conclusion that the seeds of this weed wereprobably connected with thè*çause of lathyrism. Dr. Sen at onoe placed his unpublishedresults and notes at our disposal, for which we take this opportunity of expressing ourindebtedness. .
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