Grass pea
General poisoning notes:
Grass pea (Lathyrus sativa) has been used as a food and forage crop in Europe and Asia, where ingesting the seeds for 3-6 months can cause neurolathyrism, a syndrome characterized by muscular rigidity, weakness, and paralysis of the leg muscles. In severe cases, victims may be reduced to crawling. Young men between 20 and 30 years old are primarily affected. Livestock may also develop paralysis if they ingest grass pea for a long time. Neurolathyrism still occurs in India, where grass pea is used as flour (Cooper and Johnson 1984, Roy and Spencer 1989). Poisoning from grass pea is unlikely in Canada. However, some other Lathyrusspecies that occur in Canada may also contain BOAA.
Nomenclature:
Scientific Name: Lathyrus sativus L.
Vernacular name(s): grass pea
Scientific family name: Leguminosae
Vernacular family name: pea
Lathyrus sativus L.
Geographic Information
Plant or plant parts used in or around the home.
Toxic parts:
Mature fruit, seeds.
Notes on Toxic plant chemicals:
BOAA (beta-N-oxalylamino-L-alanine) is generally regarded as the cause of neurolathyrism, although the exact nomenclature is still under study. The concentration of BOAA in the seed varies from 0.1 to 2.5%. This variation may help explain the conflicting reports of toxicity (Roy and Spencer 1989).
Toxic plant chemicals:
beta-N-oxalylamino-L-alanine
beta-N-oxalylamino-L-alanine
Animals/Human Poisoning:
Note: When an animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993) contained no detailed explanation.
Humans
General symptoms of poisoning:
Paralysis
