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BLOSSOMING TREASURES OF BIODIVERSITY
:
 14.
Grass Pea (
 Lathyrus sativus
)
Can a last resort food become a rst choice?
 E. Small and P.M. Catling 
A
UTHORS
’ A
DDRESSES
:
 E. Small  P.M. Catling 
Biodiversity,  National Program on Environmental Health,Agriculture and Agri-Food CanadaOttawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0C6smalle@agr.gc.ca
OR
catlingp@agr.gc.ca
S P E C I E S B Y S P E C I E S
This past contribution from our series
BLOSSOMING TREASURES OF BIODIVERSITY 
 [
Biodiversity 
 5(4) 2004] has been chosen for presentation in this special issue on Food & Agriculture because it illustrates several important aspects of new crop development.
First
, it demonstrates the importance of crop research: in this case, millions of people forced by famine to consume a nutritious but toxic food can be spared agonizing paralysis by research aimed at developing new cultivated varieties with low levels of paralytic neurotoxin.
Second
, it shows that the benefits from crop research are usually not limited to the original target audience: in this case, not only has agriculture in subtropical countries benefitted by the creation of new cultivars useful for humans, but temperate region agriculture has also received new cultivars suitable as forage and fodder for livestock.
Third
, the cultural difficulties involved in implementing the benefits of non-toxic cultivars reminds us that the popularization of new crops often requires consideration of not only scientific and economic aspects, but also social constraints.
Poisonous? Yes! Despite the friendly name “Sweet Pea,” the well known, attractive garden ornamental
Lathyrus odoratus
 shown here is toxic. It has a devastatingly poisonous relative, the Grass Pea, featured in this article. This illustration is from Curtis, W. (Editor). 1787. The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 1,
Plate 160. London, United Kingdom.
 
112
TROPICAL CONSERVANCY
with 3–6 seeds. The seeds are often white, brownish-grey, or light cream in color, and may also be speckled with black. The seeds are distinctively wedge shaped, and range in size from 3–7 mm (1/8–1/4 inch) in diameter. Grass Pea probably originated from the Mediterranean area and/or western Asia.
FOOD USE
The use of Grass Pea for human food may date back 8,000 years in the region of the Balkan Peninsula. From the eastern Mediterranean, Grass Pea was taken to Africa, Asia,
and Europe (where it may well have been one of the rst
domesticated crops). It has been grown for thousands of
years, but at present is a major food crop of India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Nepal, and Ethiopia. Grass Pea is raised by several hundred million farmers in the Indian subcontinent and sub-Saharan Africa. In India, 2 million ha (5 million acres) are under cultivation. The seeds are roasted, made into soup, and prepared as paste  balls. Flour or meal from Grass Pea can be used in cooking or to make bread. In Asia the leaves are sometimes eaten as a pot Imagine a food crop that has permanently crippled millions of  people. The Grass Pea is widely consumed in Asia and Africa, with tragic results. Yet, this remarkable poisonous plant not only has the potential to safely feed much of the world, but also
is extraordinarily benecial to the environment in comparison
with most other crops.
THE PLANT 
The “”Pea” in “Grass Pea” is based on resemblance to the Garden Pea (
 Pisum sativum
). Both are members of the legume
family. The “grass” in the name refers to its leaets, which
are long and grass-shaped. Grass Pea (alternatively spelled Grasspea) is known by many other names, including Blue Vetchling, Chickling Pea, Chickling Vetch, Dogtooth Pea, Grass Peavine, Indian Pea, Riga Pea, and Wedge Peavine. Non-English names include Batura (India), Khesari (Bangladesh and India), Guaya (Ethiopia), Gilbin (Sudan), and Matri (Pakistan).
This annual herb has white, pink, red, purple, or blue owers, and
grows as a suberect, creeping, or climbing vine, typically from 0.6–1 m (2–3 feet) in length, although forms are known that reach
9 m (30 feet). The pods are at, 2.5–5 cm (1–2 inches) in length,
 A, Grass Pea. From Curtis, W. (Editor). 1790.The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 3, Plate 115. London, United Kingdom. B, Grass Pea. From Hallier, E.H. 1886. Flora von Deutschland, edition 5 (of publication originally authored by D.F.L. von Schlechtendal et al.). Volume 5, Plate 2508. F.E. Köhler, Gera-Untermhaus, Germany.
A B
 
BIODIVERSITY 9 ( 1 & 2 ) 2 0 0 8
113
herb and the immature pods boiled as a vegetable. Grass Pea is not currently a food of Western nations, but with present efforts to create completely non-toxic lines, it may become an important Western crop. Grass pea also feeds millions of people worldwide as a consequence of its use as a fodder, especially for cattle in parts of south-central Europe, as well as Africa and Asia. Some of the extensive variation in the species, including wide-leaved forms, is thought to be a result of selection for forage. Recently, improved fodder varieties have been developed in Canada.The plant is exceptionally capable of withstanding drought and, as a result, is often the cheapest or only food available to the
 poor. Moreover, the seeds typically contain over 25% protein (sometimes as high as 32%), and are often the only protein
available in poor regions. This is the source of an extreme health  problem called lathyrism, described below.
LATHYRISM
To survive famine, people are sometimes compelled to eat  poisonous Grass Pea seeds. The amount of poison can be reduced by soaking, or boiling with changes of water. Baking and roasting also reduce the toxin. While these methods can
lower the neurotoxin content by over 90%, the nutritional
quality is also lowered and some water-soluble vitamins are lost. Tragically, poor people simply lack enough water and fuel to carry out such treatments to make the Grass Pea less  poisonous. For many, the result of eating too much toxic seed is a condition called lathyrism (neurolathyrism), characterized by irreversible, crippling, lameness. It usually occurs when Grass Pea has made up more than one-third of the diet for 3 or 4 months. Lathyrism is said to strike below the belt. When too much Grass Pea is consumed, both legs become paralysed and degenerate  permanently. The onset of the disease is often sudden. Continued
consumption can result in convulsions and nally death. At least
100,000 people in developing countries are believed to suffer from the disease. Toxicity does not affect everyone equally. Some people are seriously disabled, others are not affected. For reasons that are not fully understood, paralysis is more common among males than females. People between 20 and 29 years of age have been the predominant group affected. Young men under 40 are particularly susceptible. Within social classes lathyrism is especially prevalent among poorer unskilled labourers who have less food options. Among livestock, horses are notably sensitive.
TOXIC PRINCIPLE
Lathyrism is caused by an amino acid in the seeds of Grass Pea. There is no simple name for this toxic amino acid. It has  been called beta-
 N 
-oxalyamino-L alanine (BOAA for short),  beta-
 N 
-oxalyl-L-alpha,beta-diaminopropionic acid (Ox-dapro or ODAP for short), and L-3-oxalyamino-2-amino-propionic acid (OAP for short). This amino acid is not one of the 20 amino acids that form the basis of proteins that are necessary for human life. It is a neurological poison that destroys nerves in both humans and livestock. The poisonous amino acid may be present in a
concentration of up to 2.5% in the seeds. Water stress can double
the toxin level, while salinity in the soil may reduce the toxin level in the seeds. It has been suggested that human consumption is
considered to be safe at levels below 0.2% of the toxin.
 A, Grass Pea seed for sale in a market in India ; B, Low-toxin seeds of Grass Pea, bred in Canada (photographs courtesy of Dr. C.G. Campbell).
BA

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