It is caused by a different toxin, beta-aminopropionitrile, which affects the linking of the subunits of collagen, a major structural protein found in connective tissue.
It is caused by the toxin BAPN, which inhibits the copper-containing enzyme lysyl oxidase, responsible for cross-linking tropocollagen and proelastin.
[citation needed] Eating the grasspea with legumes having high concentrations of sulphur-based amino acids reduces the risk of lathyrism if such grain is available.
Some states in India have banned the sale of Lathyrus seed in order to prevent its consumption, which in turn lessens the possibility of lathyrism in the general population.
[citation needed] During the Second World War, on the order of Colonel I. Murgescu, commandant of the Vapniarka concentration camp in Transnistria, the detainees - most of them Jews - were fed nearly exclusively with grasspea.
[citation needed] Konzo means "tied legs" in the Yaka language, and is common in some African people[specify] who are consuming diets poor in protein.