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d. -low. Mc< l. Ben., 2 2 , 1, Ju ly, 1934.I\

LATHY'RISM IN THE EAT.BY

SIR EOBERT M C C A R B I S O N ,AND

B. G . K P J S H N A N .U'mm the Nutrition Research Labora tories, Indian R esearch Fund Association.

Coo noor, S. Iiidiu.)["Received for publication, .March l.r>, 1934.1

IN view of the recently published statement by Geiger, Steenbock and Parsons(l'l.'J.'i) that-, contrary to the findings of McCarrison (1927) and Zagami (1931), theyhave succeeded in inducing lathyrism in rats, a further attempt was made by us toproduce the disease in these anim als. The species of la thy rus peas used by Geigerand her colleagues was Lathyrus odoratus : the sweet pea of the flower-garden.So far as wu are aw are thi s species is no t used as a food in In di a. In our ex pe ri-ment w> hav e used a large-seede d, de ep -ro otin g ty p e of Lathyrus sativus such as iseaten by hum an sufferers from lat hy rism in var ious pa rts of Ind ia. The seed wasobtained from the Director of Pla nt In du str y, Ind ore, and was reported by him tob

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66 LatJiyrism in the Rat.extracts so obtained were freed of the solvent and the residue taken up in olive oil.This was administered intraperitoneally to young adul t male rats in closes equivalentto 100 grammes of the l a thyrus . No symptoms referable to the nervous systemresulted from these inoculations.

0 7 14 21 28, 35Days under experiment

i42TEXT-FIGURE. Composite "weight curve of eleven vounn

rats fed. for 42 days on an exclusive diet of Lathyrus sativitsand water .

The result of this experiment was the same as that previously reported fromthese La bo ratorie s (McC arrison, 1927). An exclusive diet of Lathyrus sativus failed,within a period of six weeks, to cause lathyrism or any disease of the nervoussystem, recognizable clinically as such, in albino rats .R E F E R E N C E S .

GEIGER, STEENBOCK and PARSONS (1933). Jour. Nutrition. 6, p. 427.MCCAEWSOH, R. (1927) .. .. Ind. Jour. Med. Res., 15, p. 797.ZAOAMI, V. (1931) . . " " " ~ " tte della Bealle Accademia Nazio7iale die Lincei, GtliSeries. Rendiconte, 9, p. 218.