摘要
Objectives: The reasons for the very low incidence of the disease neurolathyrism in humans even after excessive consumption of the pulse, Lathyrus sativus, under severe drought and famine conditions, and its continued consumption by large populations during normal periods without any deleterious effects have been examined in the context of a possible metabolism or detoxification of β-N-oxalyl-l-α, β-diaminopropionic acid (ODAP), the major neurotoxic amino acid of L. sativus.