Osteolathyrism

Osteolathyrism is a collagen cross-linking deficiency brought on by dietary over-reliance on the seeds of Lathyrus sativus or grass pea, a legume often grown as a famine crop in Asia and East Africa. Other members of the genus are also known to cause the disease, including L. sylvestris, L. cicera, and L. clymenum. L. sativus grows well under famine conditions, often severe drought, where it is cultivated. The condition results in damage to bone and mesenchymal connective tissues.It is seen in people in combination with neurolathyrism and angiolathyrism in areas where famine demands reliance on a crop with known detrimental effects. It occurs in cattle and horses with diets overreliant upon the grass pea. Osteolathyrism is caused by a variety of osteolathyrogenic compounds, specifically excitatory amino-compounds. The most widely-studied of these compounds is beta-aminopropionitrile (BAPN), which exerts its deleterious effect by an unknown yet potently irreversible mechanism. Other instigators are ureides, semicarbazides and thiosemicarbazides, which are believed to chelate the prosthetic Cu(II)-bipyridine cofactor complex in the enzyme lysyl oxidase.