Anagyrine is a teratogenic alkaloid first isolated from (and named for) Anagyris foetida in the year 1885 by French biologists Hardy and Gallois.

[6] A. foetida (family Fabaceae), the Stinking Bean Trefoil, is a highly toxic shrub native to the Mediterranean region, with a long history of use in folk medicine.

[7][8] In the year 1939 Anagyrine was found by James Fitton Couch to be identical to an alkaloid present in many species belonging to the plant genus Lupinus (lupins).

The toxicity of the plant comes from a variety of toxins, however out of these chemicals anagyrine is the most well known for causing crooked calf disease when ingested by cows.

[16] Known symptoms of crooked cow disease include arthrogryposis (permanently flexed joints), torticollis (twisting of the neck), scoliosis (curving of the spine), kyphosis (humpback), and cleft plate.