196 



POISONOUS FOOD 



Dolichos filosa, called 'oordh dal,' is said by Kirke to be poisonous 

 only if eaten with the husks, when it causes colic, indigestion, and 

 as secondary results rheumatic pains, harshness and dryness of the 

 skin, with cracks. It is said to be a staple article of food among 

 all classes, except the highest and the lowest. 



Lathyrismus. 



Synonyms.— Platterbsenkrankheit (Ger.); Meurd Djilben (Algeria) ; 

 Latirismo (It.). 



Definition.— Lathyrismus is an intoxication caused by the inges- 

 tion of Lathyrus sativus Linnseus and other species of the same 

 genus, and characterized by symptoms of spastic paraplegia. 



History.— It is believed that Hippocrates was acquainted|with 

 the disease, because he mentions that people at Ainos who fed con- 

 tinually on pulse suffered from weakness in the legs. In 1671 the 

 Grand-Duke of Wiirtemberg issued an edict forbidding the eating of 

 bread made from vetch-seeds, as it had been noticed that those 

 who ate such bread suffered from a peculiar stiffness of their legs, 

 although they seldom died. In 1784 an epidemic was recorded in 

 Tuscany, when, through scarcity of food, the people were compelled 

 to eat chick-peas. Tozzetti, while studying this epidemic, came 

 to the conclusion that only the people who had for at least three 

 months eaten bread made of two parts chick-pea to one part of rye 

 or wheat became ill. He then planted some of the chick-pea seeds, 

 and, when they grew up, identified them as Lathyrus sativus (L.). 

 In 1824 Desparanches came to the conclusion that the seat of the 

 lesion was in the lumbar cord. In 1833 the disease was first 

 recognized in India in the Sangor territories, where, on account of 

 three successive famines in 1829-31, the people were compelled to 

 eat vetches, which are called kesari dal, or teori. Outbreaks took 

 place in Sind, Chota Nagpur, the Central Provinces, and in the 

 Himalayas. It apparently became very prevalent, for Irving says 

 that in one district 6 per cent., and in another 3* 19 per cent., of 

 the inhabitants were affected. It still exists in India. 



Climatology. — ^The disease depends upon social rather than 

 climatic conditions, for people will not eat the vetches unless com- 

 pelled by famine. It is known in India, Algiers, Italy, and France. 



etiology. — There appears to be a consensus of opinion that the 

 disease is due to eating bread composed largely of flour obtained 

 from seeds of some species of Lathyrus belonging to the natural 

 order Leguminosae. The species most commonly suspected is 

 Lathyrus sativus Linne, which grows in India; but L. cicera L. (red 

 vetch), L. clymenum L. (Spanish vetch), L. tuberosus, and L. aphaca 

 have all been regarded as possible causes. It is, however, by no 

 means evident what substance or substances in these plants cause 

 the symptoms. Teilleux obtained a resin which caused tetanic 

 spasms and paralysis of the posterior limbs in rabbits. Bourlier 

 obtained an extract which killed birds and frogs. Asher obtained 

 from L. cicera a volatile alkaloid, which he called lathy rin, which 



