Louis-Philippe Bonhomme-Beaulieu wrote:Hi all,
I know this is an old thread, but I would like to draw your attention to some scientific studies that suggest that peas from the Siberian Pea shrubs (Caragana arborescens) may not be the best legume to add to your plate as a staple food.
Firstly, the peas from the Siberian Pea shrub contain a significant amount of the toxic amino acid arginine analogue L-Canavanine, according to the following article:
"Colutea arborescens, Caragana arborescens, Vicia gigantea, Robinia pseudoacacia and Wisteria floribunda, representative of many prolific canavanine producers, store from nearly 6 to 13% canavanine by dry weight" -- L-Canavanine: a higher plant insecticidal allelochemical, Amino Acids. 2001;21(3):319-30. doi: 10.1007/s007260170017, temporary link to the content of this article.
Secondly, this interesting article investigated the death of Chris McCandless in 1992 established the possibility of L-Canavanine toxicity, which was likely exacerbated by McCandless's state of malnutrition. Also, it describes reports of symptoms similar to systemic lupus erythematosus in monkeys and humans that consumed L-Canavanine in low concentrations (2 wt% of diet for the monkeys). -- Presence of L-Canavanine in Hedysarum alpinum Seeds
and Its Potential Role in the Death of Chris McCandless, Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. 2015;26:36-42.
I hope these articles provide food for thought!
this is the scientific paper, i wonder if heat destroys L-canavanine in this bean? i would like to feed these seeds to my hens:
Abstract
Objective: For the past 2 decades there has been vigorous disagreement over the purported toxicity of Hedysarum alpinum seeds, and whether the consumption of such seeds was a factor in the 1992 death of Chris McCandless, the subject of the book Into the Wild. Our objective was to confirm or disprove the presence of L-canavanine (a nonprotein amino acid known to induce systemic lupuslike symptoms in humans) in H alpinum seeds.
Methods: Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis of H alpinum seeds was performed.
Results: Our analysis confirmed the presence of L-canavanine in H alpinum seeds and demonstrated that it is a significant component of the seeds, with a concentration of 1.2% (weight/weight), roughly half of that found in Canavalia ensiformis.
Conclusions: The data led us to conclude it is highly likely that the consumption of H alpinum seeds contributed to the death of Chris McCandless.
Keywords: Hedysarum alpinum; Hedysarum mackenzii; Into the Wild; L-canavanine; McCandless; ODAP.
