Abstract:
Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is one of the most important food legumes in countries like Bangladesh, India and Ethiopia. The legume is nutritious, rich in protein (28-32%) and contains good quantities of essential amino acids. Consumption of Lathyrus sativus seeds has been associated for more than 2000 years with neurolathyrim caused by the nearotoxin ß-ODAP (ß-N-Oxalyl-L-α, ßdiaminopropionic acid) present in the seeds. In the present study, Lathyrus sativus seed samples collected from the traditional grass pea growing areas in the country were analyzed for characteristics such as crude protein (CP), ß-ODAP, catechin equivalents (CE), trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA), 100 seed weight, seed color and consumption habit of grass pea seeds. The CP content ranged from 272.9 g/kg -1 to 319.8 g/kg -1 dry matter, the lowest and highest CP being observed in samples collected from Grar Jarso and Akaki, respectively. There were higher variations between samples in ß-ODAP levels. On average, ß-ODAP level in samples from Akaki was about twofold higher than those from Asgido. CE, which detects simple flavonoids as well as condensed tannins, was not more than 7.66 g/kg-1 dry matter in any sample. The TIA content did not differ significantly between the samples. The correlation coefficients indicated that, ß-ODAP, CE, TIA and 100 seed weight were positively correlated (p<0.05) with CP. In contrast, CE and TIA were negatively correlated (p<0.05) with ß-ODAP. The dietary interviews revealed that grass pea has diversified uses in Ethiopia both as human food and feed or crop. The habit of consuming shiro wot (the Ethiopian traditional spiced soup-like dish), kik wot (sauce made of dehusked split seeds) kollo (roasted whole seeds), nifro (boiled whole seeds) or kitta (unlearned flat bread) prepared from grass pea alone is significantly higher (p<0.05) than the habit of consuming those food items prepared from grass pea mixed with other legumes. Further studies are warranted to understand the reasons that influenced food choices of the housewives for establishing respective ways to improve healthy consumption habits.
