Abstract
THE toxic substance of L. sativus responsible for lathyrism has been identified as selenium. L. sativus is much richer in selenium content than other pulses which are harmless (see table). Selenium has been estimated after wet incineration of the dried substance and reduction with ascorbic acid, which is a stronger reducing agent than hydroxylamine used by Klein1. Owing to the higher degree of utilization of L. sativus (Jiménez Díaz and Romeo2 observed 86 per cent utilization) the high selenium content is easily transported to the tissues.
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RUDRA, M. Toxic Principle of Lathyrus sativus. Nature 170, 124–125 (1952). https://doi.org/10.1038/170124b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/170124b0
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