L. sativus needs 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, India. Seed ODAP characteristics Like other grain legumes, L. sativus produces a high-protein seed. The seeds however also contain variable amounts of a neurotoxic amino acid β-N-oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (ODAP). ODAP is considered the cause of the disease neurolathyrism, a neurodegenerative disease that causes paralysis of the lower body: emaciation of gluteal muscle (buttocks). The disease has been seen to occur after famines in Europe (France, Spain, Germany), North Africa, and South Asia, 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. This legume is the only known dietary source for L-homoarginine and is preferred over arginine for nitric oxide (NO) generation. L-ODAP is reported to act as an activator of calcium-dependent protein kinase C. Breeding programs Breeding programs are underway to produce lines of L. sativus that produce less ODAP. Crop wild relatives are prominent source of genetic material, which can be tapped to improve cultivars. ICARDA is currently evaluating crop wild relatives to explore the genes with low or no ODAP and resistant/tolerant to biotic/abiotic stresses and transfer them to cultivated grass pea. See also Kinako References External links IPBO Lathyrus Research Laboratory Lathyrus newsletter sativus Flora of Asia Edible legumes Medicinal plants Castilian-La Mancha cuisine Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus