LATIIVKIS.M 



LATHYRUS 



SAT1VUS 

 Lakh 



I M\MT .-\M-.-M, 1 1 !.-. uli.-n eaten continuouuly for any length of time. But 

 l-o riui.l th.it the whole f.nuily <>f LuouMiNOK.*, much as we UM them, are 

 respects a suspicious family. A few years ago I gave attention to this 

 pulse, and in consequence placed before the members of the Medical 

 of Calcutta (181)4) the results of my inquiry. 1 th< n pointed OK 

 in two sized, tho Hintillor form being known in t hhutuagarh as lakhori 

 t h< larger in Nagpur and Bhandara as lakh. Tho t 

 latter. Its seeds are broadcasted over the flooded rice-fields (towardi- 



.i.s), while the latter is sown on rich black, dry soil*, on 

 1m. inly devoted to wheat. The opinion seemed universal that whil- 

 t or rice-field cultivation yielded u harmless seed, tho lakh or when' 



very dangerous. There would appear to be no botanical character- 

 to account for this remarkable difference. 



Speaking on the dangerous property of this pulse. Major A. Buchanan, I. M.S., 

 ilu> hits given the subject much careful study (Lathyrism Kept., 1904, 25), says, 

 : i nued growth of rice-land teora on rice land has produced a different race. 

 . rate it is easy as a rule to distinguish a heap of Lakh from a heap of lakhori, 

 it 1 1 it-re might be a difficulty in distinguishing single seeds of the two kinds. Crop*. 

 wheat-land teora or lakh is as a rule larger." " The weights of a hundred 

 of lakh varied between 245 and 110 grains, the weights of lakhori varied 

 jtweon 108 and 77 grains. The colour of the wheat-land teora is darker than 

 colour of the rice-land teora. The latter is called the yellow latri in Azam- 

 rh." In that district the people consider that the yellow latri is non-poisonous, 

 ni tho people of Bhandara have for many years held the same opinion. For 

 ur present purpose it may, therefore, suffice to thus indicate the two crops met 

 with in India. 



Properties of the Pulse. Sir J. B. Fuller, while Commissioner of Jabbalpur, 

 suggested that the greater care taken by the people of Chhattisgarh in cooking 

 Ljrain might account for their partial immunity from toxic action. The 

 grain, he explained, is in Raipur commonly parched before being ground, and 

 the husk of the grain is, moreover, separated and not eaten. This causes a 

 loss of 25 per cent, in the weight a loss which those in poverty are naturally 

 averse to sustaining. The flour thus prepared is next baked into cakes (ckapattis), 

 or boiled with buttermilk into a paste known as mahera. This suggestion led 

 to the supposition that the poison might consist of some volatile substance 

 expelled by the dry heat, or that it resided in the husk. Mr. Cleveland sug- 

 sted that tiitra loses its poisonous qualities when eaten along with mahua (the 

 jwers of HuHHin inti/uiiti). So also many years ago Dr. Kinloch Kirk pointed 

 it that rice to be completely wholesome must be kept for some time. The 

 st rices are three years old. Bice under-kept boils thick and becomes gummy, 

 id is not wholesome. Hence it has been argued that the age of the lakh grain 

 iy similarly have something to say to its poisonous property. 



The following chemical analysis of the pulse is given by Church (I.e., suppl., 

 13) : water 11-1, albuminoids 24-4, starch, etc. 55'3, oil 1-0, fibre 5-4, ash 2-8. 

 le nutrient ratio is here 1 : 2'3 and the nutrient value 82. 

 Lathyrism. Mention has already been made of the fact that it has for long 

 known that a form of paralysis, to which the name Lathyrism has been 

 pplied, is believed to result when this pulse is eaten continuously for some 

 th of time. One peculiarity of the disease (in men) is that it affects adult 

 les chiefly (1 in 10). Another, that it is the lower extremities that become 

 ilysed. But similar results are produced when the pulse is given to horses, 

 ittle, pigs. Investigations have been conducted at the Imperial Institute with 

 view to ascertain the nature of the poison, but the results so far attained have 

 an entirely negative. The poisonous property, we are assured, is not due 

 (as has been supposed) to a volatile alkaloid that might be dissipated by superior 

 .iet hods of cooking, nor to any ordinary chemical poison. Dunstan has very 

 }perly pointed out that it is by no means certain that the seeds sent to Europe 

 Jr examination were actually those of the poisonous sort. But it may have 

 been inferred from the observations already made that we have no simple method 

 by which to ascertain when the seeds are or are not poisonous, and can but 

 procure supplies from localities where the paralysis mentioned prevails. In no 

 instance does the poison exist in such abundance as to give immediate indication 

 of its presence. It is only after protracted consumption that the paralysis 

 appears. In fact there would even seem grounds for suspecting that the plant 

 may only be intermittently poisonous, so that no particular race or crop could bo 



705 45 



Rtoft-mnd 



'.'. ',.-,!..n. I. 



Cooking and 

 Cork L Uon. 



Floor. 

 Cakes. 



Influence of Age. 



Chariot! 



Composition, 



Special 



Poison not 



lTovt-,1. 



