''Lathyrus sativus'', also known as grass pea, cicerchia, blue sweet pea, chickling pea, chickling vetch, Indian pea, white pea and white vetch, is a

legume Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

(family

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

) commonly grown for human consumption and

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

feed in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

. It is a particularly important crop in areas that are prone to

drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...

and

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

, and is thought of as an 'insurance crop' as it produces reliable yields when all other crops fail. The seeds contain a

neurotoxin Neurotoxins are toxins that are destructive to nervous tissue, nerve tissue (causing neurotoxicity). Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insult (medical), insultsSpencer 2000 that can adversely affect function ...

that causes

lathyrism Lathyrism is a condition caused by eating certain legumes of the genus ''Lathyrus''. There are three types of lathyrism: ''neurolathyrism'', ''osteolathyrism'', and ''angiolathyrism'', all of which are incurable, differing in their symptoms and ...

, a neurodegenerative disease, if eaten as a primary protein source for a prolonged period.

Cultivation

''Lathyrus sativus'' grows best where the average temperature is 10–25 °C and average rainfall is per year. Like other legumes, it improves the nitrogen content of soil. The crop can survive

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

s, but grows best in moist soils. It tolerates a range of soil types from light sandy through loamy to heavy clay, and acid, neutral, or alkaline soils. It does not tolerate shade.''

Plants for a Future Plants For A Future (PFAF) is an online not for profit resource for those interested in edible and useful plants, with a focus on temperate regions. Named after the phrase "plans for a future" as wordplay, the organization's emphasis is on perenni ...

'
''Lathyrus sativus''
/ref> Slow Food inducted Serra de'Conti Cicerchia, a cicerchia grown in Serra de’ Conti Municipality, Ancona Province,

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

region of Italy into the Ark of Taste.

Uses

Seed is sold for human consumption at markets in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. Consumption of this

pulse In medicine, the pulse refers to the rhythmic pulsations (expansion and contraction) of an artery in response to the cardiac cycle (heartbeat). The pulse may be felt ( palpated) in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surfac ...

in Italy is limited to some areas in the central part of the country, and is steadily declining. Flour made from grass peas (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''almorta'') is the main ingredient for the ''

gachas Gachas is an ancestral basic dish of central and southern Spain. It is a gruel whose main ingredients are flour, water, olive oil, garlic, paprika and salt. Origin Gachas is considered an unrefined rural dish, the food of shepherds, farmers an ...

manchegas'' or ''gachas de almorta''. Accompaniments for the dish vary throughout

La Mancha La Mancha () is a natural region, natural and historical region in the provinces of Spain, Spanish provinces of province of Albacete, Albacete, province of Cuenca, Cuenca, province of Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real and province of Toledo, Toledo. It ...

. This is an ancient

Manchego cuisine Manchego cuisine (Manchegan cuisine or Castilian-Manchego cuisine) refers to the typical dishes and ingredients in the cuisine of the Castilla–La Mancha region of Spain. These include ''pisto'' (a vegetable stew with tomato sauce), ''gazpac ...

staple, generally consumed during the cold winter months. The dish is generally eaten directly out of the pan in which it was cooked, using either a spoon or a simple slice of bread. This dish is commonly consumed immediately after removing it from the fire, being careful not to burn one's lips or tongue. Due to its toxicity, it was forbidden for human consumption in Spain from 1967 to 2018. However, it was widely sold as animal feed, but displayed together with flours for human consumption. The town of

Alvaiázere Alvaiázere () is a List of municipalities of Portugal, municipality in the district of Leiria (district), Leiria in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 7,287,Chícharo'' capital, the name of this pulse in Portuguese. Immature seeds can be eaten like green peas. Mature seeds need soaking and thorough cooking to reduce toxins. The leaves and stem are cooked and eaten as ''chana saga'' ( Odia: ଚଣା ଶାଗ) in parts of

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

, India.

Neurotoxic properties

Like other grain legumes, ''L. sativus'' produces a high-

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

seed. The seeds however also contain variable amounts of a

neurotoxic Neurotoxicity is a form of toxicity in which a biological, chemical, or physical agent produces an adverse effect on the structure or function of the central and/or peripheral nervous system. It occurs when exposure to a substance – specifical ...

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 a ...

β-N-oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (ODAP). ODAP is considered the cause of the disease

neurolathyrism Neurolathyrism, is a neurological disease of humans, caused by eating certain legumes of the genus ''Lathyrus''. This disease is mainly associated with the consumption of ''Lathyrus sativus'' (also known as ''grass pea'', ''chickling pea'', ''kes ...

, a

neurodegenerative A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Neuronal damage may also ultimately result in their death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, mul ...

disease that causes

paralysis Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of Motor skill, motor function in one or more Skeletal muscle, muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory d ...

of the lower body:

emaciation Emaciation is defined as the state of extreme thinness from absence of body fat and muscle wasting usually resulting from malnutrition. It is often seen as the opposite of obesity. Characteristics Emaciation manifests physically as thin limbs, pr ...

of gluteal muscle (buttocks). The disease has historically occurred after

s in Europe (France, Spain, Germany), North Africa, and

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, and is still prevalent in Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan (panhandle) when ''Lathyrus'' seed is the exclusive or main source of nutrients for extended periods. ODAP concentration increases in plants grown under stressful conditions, compounding the problem. Some authors have argued that this toxicity is overstated, and ''L. sativus'' is harmless as part of a normal diet.

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, an ...

in his 1810–1815 '' The Disasters of War'' series illustrates the harm that can be done by excessive consumption of grass peas in times of famine in his print ''Gracias á la almorta'' (''Thanks to the grass pea''), about Napoleon's siege of Madrid. It depicts a woman who can no longer walk due to lathyrism, surrounded by starving people waiting for bowls of grass pea-based food. Grass-pea products were banned for sale for human consumption in Spain from 1967 to 2018, due to toxicity. This legume is the only known dietary source for L- homoarginine and is preferred over

arginine Arginine is the amino acid with the formula (H2N)(HN)CN(H)(CH2)3CH(NH2)CO2H. The molecule features a guanidinium, guanidino group appended to a standard amino acid framework. At physiological pH, the carboxylic acid is deprotonated (−CO2−) a ...

for

nitric oxide Nitric oxide (nitrogen oxide, nitrogen monooxide, or nitrogen monoxide) is a colorless gas with the formula . It is one of the principal oxides of nitrogen. Nitric oxide is a free radical: it has an unpaired electron, which is sometimes den ...

(NO) generation. L-ODAP is reported to act as an activator of calcium-dependent

protein kinase C In cell biology, protein kinase C, commonly abbreviated to PKC (EC 2.7.11.13), is a family of protein kinase enzymes that are involved in controlling the function of other proteins through the phosphorylation of hydroxyl groups of serine and t ...

Breeding programs

Breeding programs are underway to produce lines of ''Lathyrus sativus'' that contain ODAP levels too low to be dangerous, while maintaining disease and insect resistance and tolerance to drought, heat, and salinity. Wild relatives are a prominent source of genetic material to improve cultivars. From 2016 to 2018, the

International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(ICARDA) evaluated wild relatives to explore genes for low or no ODAP and resistance/tolerance to biotic/abiotic stresses and transfer them to cultivated grass pea.

References

External links

*
''Lathyrus'' newsletter''What's new around Lathyrus?'' newsletter
{{Authority control sativus Flora of Asia Edible legumes Medicinal plants Castilian-La Mancha cuisine Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus