Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. 3 (2026)

Insights into morpho-biochemical characterisation and β-ODAP profiling of diverse genotypes of grasspea

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.13014
Submitted
1 December 2025
Published
10-09-2026 — Updated on 30-09-2026
Versions

Abstract

Grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is a versatile, climate-resilient legume valued for its nutritional richness and low input requirements. However, the presence of the neurotoxin β-N-oxalyl-L-α, β-diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP) has limited its popularity. The present study aimed to identify promising low-ODAP grasspea genotypes for rice-fallow ecosystems of the Gangetic Plains of India through comprehensive morpho-biochemical characterisation. Fifteen genotypes of diverse origin were evaluated in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 3 replications and observations were recorded from five plants per plot. Biochemical analyses were performed using standard protocols, including anthrone (carbohydrates), Lowry’s (protein) and modified Rao’s colourimetric assay for ß-ODAP quantification. Significant variability was observed among genotypes. Total soluble sugars ranged from 3.01–12.43 %, proteins from 14.08–33.76 % and starch from     9.46–43.8 %, reflecting up to four-fold variation in carbohydrates and over two-fold variation in protein content. ß-ODAP content ranged from 0.07–0.51 %, with values ≤ 0.15 % considered low, identifying genotypes such as BANG-227 (0.07 %) as a low-ODAP line. Yield traits also varied widely, with seed yield ranging from 6.30–17.09 g per plant and pods per plant from 53 to 139. Genotypes BANG-227, IFLA-2341 and BCK-19-43 exhibited a desirable combination of low ODAP, higher nutritional attributes and superior yield performance. Correlation and multivariate studies revealed that primary branches, pods per plant and seed weight were key contributors to yield, while ODAP and mineral composition contributed to genetic divergence. The study conclusively identified BANG-227, IFLA-2341 and BCK-19-43 with superior nutritional and agronomic performance for breeding and deployment in rice-fallow agro-ecosystems.

References

  1. 1. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Population Prospects 2022: Summary of Results. New York: United Nations; 2022. UN DESA/POP/2022/TR/NO. 3.
  2. 2. Edwards A, Njaci I, Sarkar A, Jiang Z, Kaithakottil GG, Moore C, et al. Genomics and biochemical analyses reveal a metabolon key to β-L-ODAP biosynthesis in Lathyrus sativus. Nat Commun. 2023;14(1):876. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36503-2
  3. 3. Mahapatra NS, Das A, Bhattacharyya PK, Bhattacharya S, Pal S, Barpete S. Studies on genetic variability, divergence and association of characters in grass pea. J Crop Weed. 2020;16(1):155–61. https://doi.org/10.22271/09746315.2020.v16.i1.1287
  4. 4. Barpete S, Das A, Kahriz PP, Kahriz MP, Khawar KM, Qunale X, et al. Disease resistance breeding in Lathyrus sativus L. In: Jha UC, Nayyar H, Sharma KD, von Wettberg EJB, Singh P, Siddique KH, editors. Diseases in Legume Crops: Next Generation Breeding Approaches for Resistant Legume Crops. Singapore: Springer; 2023. p. 233–56. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3358-7_10
  5. 5. Banerjee J, Das A, Parihar AK, Sharma R, Pramanik K, Barpete S. Genomic designing towards development of abiotic stress tolerant grass pea for food and nutritional security. In: Kole C, editor. Genomic Designing for Abiotic Stress Resistant Pulse Crops. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2022. p. 345–81. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91039-6_9
  6. 6. Ferreres F, Magalhães SC, Gil-Izquierdo A, Valentão P, Cabrita AR, Fonseca AJ, et al. HPLC-DAD-ESI/MSn profiling of phenolic compounds from Lathyrus cicera L. seeds. Food Chem. 2017;214:678–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.07.129
  7. 7. Tripathi K, Sadhukhan R, Das A, Jana K, Semwal DP, Kumar A, et al. Khesari (Lathyrus sativus L.), an ancient legume for future gain: An expedition collection from parts of West Bengal state of Eastern India. Indian J Tradit Knowl. 2022;21(2):395–403. https://doi.org/10.56042/ijtk.v21i2.39767
  8. 8. Das A, Parihar AK, Barpete S, Kumar S, Gupta S. Current perspectives on reducing the β-ODAP content and improving potential agronomic traits in grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.). Front Plant Sci. 2021;12:703275. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.703275
  9. 9. Haque RM, Kuo YH, Lambein F, Hussain M. Effect of environmental factors on the biosynthesis of the neuro-excitatory amino acid β-ODAP (β-N-oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic acid) in callus tissue of Lathyrus sativus. Food Chem Toxicol. 2011;49(3):583–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2010.06.050
  10. 10. Kupicha FK. The infrageneric structure of Lathyrus. Notes R Bot Gard Edinburgh. 1983;41(2):209–44.
  11. 11. Singh PK, Kumari N, Jha RK, Sadhukhan R. Assessment of phenotypic variations and correlation among yield attributing and biochemical traits in mutant population of grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.). Indian J Plant Genet Resour. 2023;36(1):77–84.
  12. 12. Gonçalves L, Rubiales D, Lourenço M, Patto MC. Exploring grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) genetic diversity in Mediterranean changing climate conditions. Eur J Agron. 2024;156:127142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2024.127142
  13. 13. Mekonen DA, Abraham A, Oselebe H, Afiukwa C, Abebe TD, Zemene A, et al. Estimation of ODAP contents and heritability of quantitative traits in grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) accessions from North-Western Ethiopia. Cogent Food Agric. 2024;10(1):2319174. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2024.2319174
  14. 14. Barpete S, Chatterjee S, Roy S, Murmu M, Dutta P, Das A, et al. Biotic stresses in grasspea: Status and outlook of genomics-aided breeding strategies. In: Parihar AK, Bohra A, Lamichaney A, Mishra R, Varshney RK, editors. Genomics-aided Breeding Strategies for Biotic Stress in Grain Legumes. Singapore: Springer; 2024. p. 405–41. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-3917-2_12
  15. 15. Maji S, Das A, Nath R, Bandopadhyay P, Das R, Gupta S. Cool season food legumes in rice fallows: An Indian perspective. In: Agronomic Crops. Singapore: Springer; 2019. p. 561–605. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9151-5_25
  16. 16. Hodge JE, Hofreiter BT. Determination of reducing sugars and carbohydrates. In: Whistler RL, Wolfram ML, editors. Methods in Carbohydrate Chemistry. Vol. 1. New York: Academic Press; 1962. p. 380–94.
  17. 17. Lowry OH, Rosebrough NJ, Farr AL, Randall RJ. Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem. 1951;193(1):265–75.
  18. 18. Vinson JA, Hao Y, Su X, Zubik L. Phenol antioxidant quantity and quality in foods: Vegetables. J Agric Food Chem. 1998;46(9):3630–4.
  19. 19. Zhishen J, Mengcheng T, Jianming W. The determination of flavonoid contents in mulberry and their scavenging effects on superoxide radicals. Food Chem. 1999;64(4):555–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0308-8146(98)00102-2
  20. 20. Rao SLN. A sensitive and specific colorimetric method for the determination of α,β-diaminopropionic acid and the Lathyrus sativus neurotoxin. Anal Biochem. 1978;86(2):386–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-2697(78)90762-5
  21. 21. Emmrich PM, Rejzek M, Hill L, Brett P, Edwards A, Sarkar A, et al. Linking a rapid throughput plate-assay with high-sensitivity stable-isotope label LCMS quantification permits the identification and characterisation of low β-L-ODAP grass pea lines. BMC Plant Biol. 2019;19(1):489. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-019-2091-5
  22. 22. Özgen UF, Mavi A, Terzi ZE, Coşkun M, Houghton PJ. Antioxidant properties of some medicinal Lamiaceae (Labiatae) species. Pharm Biol. 2006;44(2):107–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/13880200600592061
  23. 23. Braca A, De Tommasi N, Di Bari L, Pizza C, Politi M, Morelli I. Antioxidant principles from Bauhinia tarapotensis. J Nat Prod. 2001;64(7):892–5. https://doi.org/10.1021/np0100845
  24. 24. Tandon HLS. Methods of Analysis of Soils, Plants, Water and Fertilizers. New Delhi: Fertilizer Development and Consultation Organization; 1998.
  25. 25. Jackson ML. Soil Chemical Analysis. New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India Private Limited; 1973.
  26. 26. Tabatabai MA, Bremner JM. A simple turbidimetric method of determining total sulfur in plant materials. Agron J. 1970;62(6):805–6. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj1970.00021962006200060038x
  27. 27. Ahuja S, Malhotra PK, Bhatia VK, Parsad R. Statistical package for agricultural research (SPAR 2.0). J Indian Soc Agric Stat. 2008;62(1):65–74.
  28. 28. Tadesse W, Bekele E. Variation and association of morphological and biochemical characters in grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.). Euphytica. 2003;130(3):315–24. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023087903679
  29. 29. Ramya KR, Tripathi K, Singh R, Pandey A, Pamarthi RK, Rajendran NR, et al. Insights into morphological and molecular diversity in grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.) germplasm. Genet Resour Crop Evol. 2025;72(1):543–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-024-01992-7
  30. 30. Basaran U, Acar Z, Karacan M, Onar A. Variation and correlation of morpho-agronomic traits and biochemical contents (protein and β-ODAP) in Turkish grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) landraces. Turk J Field Crops. 2013;18(2):166–73.
  31. 31. Sanz-Penella JM, Wronkowska M, Soral-Śmietana M, Haros M. Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) starch as an alternative for cereal starches: Rheological properties and retrogradation susceptibility. Food Hydrocoll. 2010;24(6–7):544–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodhyd.2010.02.004
  32. 32. Borek S, Nuc K. Sucrose controls storage lipid breakdown on gene expression level in germinating yellow lupine (Lupinus luteus L.) seeds. J Plant Physiol. 2011;168(15):1795–803. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2011.05.012
  33. 33. Mullan BP, Pluske JR, Trezona M, Harris DJ, Allen JG, Siddique KH, et al. Chemical composition and standardised ileal digestible amino acid contents of Lathyrus (Lathyrus cicera) as an ingredient in pig diets. Anim Feed Sci Technol. 2009;150(1–2):139–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2008.07.005
  34. 34. Yazici SO, Ozmen I, Yildirim B, Genc H, Ozeloglu B, Gülsün M, et al. Biochemical composition of Lathyrus L. seeds: Antioxidant activities, phenolic profiles, β-ODAP and protein contents. Legume Res. 2020;43(5):723–7.
  35. 35. Llorent-Martínez EJ, Ortega-Barrales P, Zengin G, Mocan A, Simirgiotis MJ, Ceylan R, et al. Evaluation of antioxidant potential, enzyme inhibition activity and phenolic profile of Lathyrus cicera and Lathyrus digitatus: Potential sources of bioactive compounds for the food industry. Food Chem Toxicol. 2017;107:609–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2017.03.002
  36. 36. Tokarz B, Wójtowicz T, Makowski W, Jędrzejczyk RJ, Tokarz KM. What is the difference between the response of grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) to salinity and drought stress?—A physiological study. Agronomy. 2020;10(6):833. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10060833
  37. 37. Kosev VI, Vasileva VM. Morphological characterization of grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) varieties. J Agric Sci Sri Lanka. 2019;14(2):67–76. https://doi.org/10.4038/jas.v14i2.8509
  38. 38. Jiao CJ, Jiang JL, Ke LM, Cheng W, Li FM, Li ZX, et al. Factors affecting β-ODAP content in Lathyrus sativus and their possible physiological mechanisms. Food Chem Toxicol. 2011;49(3):543–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2010.04.050
  39. 39. Polignano GB, Uggenti P, Olita G, Bisignano V, Alba V, Perrino P. Characterization of grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) entries by means of agronomically useful traits. Lathyrus Lathyrism Newsl. 2005;4:10–4.
  40. 40. Petrova S. Assessment of phenotypic diversity of local grass pea (Lathyrus sp. L.) accessions based on economically important agricultural traits. Bulg J Crop Sci. 2022;59(6):48.
  41. 41. Petrova S. Lathyrus diversity: Resources with different origin with relevance to crop improvement. Bulg J Crop Sci. 2023;60(6):74–84. https://doi.org/10.61308/DYZK9247

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.