food made from this grain a man became dizzy and developed headache, generalized tremors, lassitude, slurred speech and staggering gait- Nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea were also in evidence at times. Those who had fed well became stuporous or even comatose for as long as 10 hours while those who had eaten only a little recovered in 3 to 4 hours. There were no deaths. All were well -enough to resume their usual occupation in 72 hours. The weed is said to be known to the farmers in Arabia as Miscara and is removed before the is ready for reaping. This precaution was not taken in Abyssinia. The wheat mixed with the weed seed is sieved in Abyssinia and the seed removed before milling. This pre- caution was not taken in Aden. Ordinarily, in Asia, the housewife hand-winnows the wheat before milling and thus removes all grains other than wheat. This step was missed in Aden. Later, in the samples taken for examination, the weed seeds were found to be up to 10 per cent.

The weed Historical.?The harmful nature of the grains of L. temulentum has been known for centuries ' and it possibly represents the tares' of the Scriptures. As early as 1789 it was stated that the seeds possess very intoxicating quality and bring on convulsions if taken in large quantities (Adam, quoted by Brenchley, 1920). The weed is known to Indian toxicologists (Owens, 1935; Modi, 1943). The is known in different countries different and local names. by popular ' : The name for it is darnel POISONOUS FOODGRAIN WHEAT ' popular English or bearded wheat \ One of the many other MIXED WITH ' local English names is the drunken plant' TEMULENTUM which proves the knowledge of the people about By S. D. S. GREVAL its effect on man (Brenchley, loc. cit.). The LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, I.M.S. Arabian name Miscara which means tipsV Imperial Serologist and Chemical Examiner to the describes its effect on man. In France darnel Government of India is called Ivrcz and in Germany Taumellolch. and In the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province of India the local names for it are Mostaki P. N. BHADURI, p1i.d., f.l.s., f.r.m.s., f.r.h.s. (Lond.), f.n.i. (Ind.) and Mochni respectively. Distribution.?The is Department of Botany, Calcutta University plant distributed through- out and Northern Asia I (From the Laboratory of the Imperial Serologist and Europe (Index Kewensis) Chemical Examiner to the Government of India, School in other places it has been introduced. It was of Tropical Medicine, Calcutta) reported from Argentina (Marchionatto, 1941) that the plant is a wild grass there and that An epidemic in Aden the toxic nature of the seeds to man and In the March issue of this journal there animals is known to local people. In India it appeared under 'Medical News' (p. 148; an is found in the Upper Gangetic Plain, the abstract from an article by Brinton) an account Punjab, Sind and Western Himalayas, froifl of an epidemic at Aden caused by the seed of 4 to 6,000 feet, and is an introduced plant in Lolium temulentum, a weed which grows in the Kashmir State (Hooker, 1897). It was wheat fields. The wheat was brought from introduced into Shillong, Assam, in the year Abyssinia and milled locally by machinery. The 1934 (Bor, 1940). The plant is not reported consumption of the product made the inhabitants from Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Madras and go down with symptoms of acute intoxication. Bombay (Prain, 1903; Haines, 1925, Gamble, For 13 months from October 1942 the population 1928; Blatter and McCann, 1935). From the suffered Some 450 persons nature of distribution of the it appears intermittently. ' plant suffered. From ^ hour to 2 hours after taking that the darnel mixed with wheat grain, which produced the epidemic in Aden, was imported into Abyssinia from abroad. Plate XVIII POISONOUS FOODGRAIN : WHEAT MIXED WITH LOLIUM TEMULENTUM S. D. S. GREVAL & P. N. BHADURI. PAGE 294.

Fig.Fig. 1.?Showing1.?Showing LoliumLolium temulentum.temulentum. ManyMany Fig.Fig. 2.?Showing2.?Showing TriticumTriticum vulgare.vulgare. Only0n^ tillerstillers together.together. NoteNote laxlax spikeletsspikelets inin thethe ear.ear. threethree tillerstillers shown.shown. NoteNote compressedcompressed spikeletsspikelets inin thethe ear.ear.

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Fig.Fig. 3.?Showing3.?Showing grainsgrains ofof L.L. lemulentum.temulentum. NoteNote aa closeclose Fig.Fig. 4.?Showing4.?Showing wheatwheat grains.grains, resemblanceresemblance toto wheatwheat inin shapeshape (not(not inin size).size). ' ' ' (For(For 'centimeter' centimeter' readread centimeterscentimeters '.) '.) augv 1946] POISONOUS FOODGRAIN : GREVAL & BHADURI 295

temu- strains of the endophytic have been that unlike L. to note in a number of them It is interesting are well known separated cultures, other of lolium have proved to be physiological strains (Jodidi species e.g. English rye- as fodder and pasture grasses, (L. multi- and Peklo, 1929). The strain which has been grass Italian rye-grass called Lolium fungus no. 2 may be the apothecial (L. perenne), (L. remotum). florum) and annual rye-grass stage of the endophyte (Neill, 1943). Although endophytic fungi have been isolated The fungus from different cereal grains like wheat, barley, that the poisonous rye-grass, etc., the darnel poison which pro- It is now well established to the grains is due duces the typical symptoms is only present in nature of L. temulentum fungus between the hyphae of the fungus present in the grains of harbouring of an endophytic The fungus L. temulentum. Chemically, this poison is and the endosperm. the seed coat and is carried believed to be a pyridine base called temuline. in the grains the lives symbiotically through The Miscara which was sent to from to the next England from one generation ovary Aden for identification and chemical analysis to the developing of germinating seedling Grains was found to be L. linicolum or L. temulentum mature grains. and finally to the the fungus temuline. always harbour containing L. temulentum nearly harbouring and it is claimed that the than the non-harbour- Wheat and lolium &re richer in nitrogen Fresh lodge- and Diels, 1936). lng ones (Engler formation (Marclno- Botanically, lolium, wheat (Triticum sp.) ment occurs during spike of seed samples and barley (Hordeum sp.) are closely related On examination was natto, 1941). that the fungus and belong to the tribe Hordece of the family *n was found Argentina it of L. temu- Graminecc. They differ from each other with cent of the grains Present in 75 per of L. multi- respect to the characters of the spikelets and 25 cent of the grains lentum, per of L. perenne. have been placed on that account into separate florum and absent in the grains of non-harbouring sub-tribes (Hooker, 1897). As the literature the capacity the germinating than that of readily available to the toxicologist and public seeds was however greater health worker does not contain a good descrip- harbouring ones. fungus were tion of the the accompanying photograph isolate the darnel weed, Attempts to 1903; 1906) (see 3 and 4, plate XVIII) of 1906 (Freeman, figures 1, 2, made in 1903 and was related the ear and of wheat that the fungus root, stalk, leaf, grain and it was suggested Later, theand of the weed, side by side, will be found to fungi). the Ustilaginese (smut barley and rye-useful in quick identification. The grains of from wheat, endophytic fungus and said to bewheat and lolium differ markedly at least in was isolated grass (Ij. perenne) insize and can be distinguished as such. There with the one present almost identical Peklo, 1929).is a sharp microscopical difference between the ?k- and temulentum (Jodidi it was concludedwheat and lolium starch grains present in the After extensive observations and of each seed. This distinction does are a special endosperm that these fungi unlike hold with of lolium endophytic because they, not, however, good respect new type of smut fung\is, parasitically onand barley. Another distinguishing character many other smuts which grow thebetween wheat and lolium which could be other cereals producing has wheat, barley and symbionts. It detected under the microscope is the presence of Bunt disease are typical containa of between the the hyphae conspicuous layer fungal hyphae been shown also that and anseed coat and the aleurone in lolium seeds soluble protein layer Prolamin ', an alcohol the latter beingwhich is absent in wheat seeds (Gassner, 1931). essential constituent of gluten, and In the of the of cereals grasses present shortage foodgrains . lnis he characteristic ' of the lolium protein aleurone cells importance recognizing seed, and specially rich in the because especiallyon in imported wheat, is obvious. observation is interesting that t e specially the theory ne one hand it supports of e the products Lolium as an intoxicant aleurone represent and Peklo grains 1913; Jodidi symbiotic fungi (Peklo, additionalIt was reported as as 1789 (Adam, quoted it provides the early ?9) and on the other nature of by Brenchley, loc. cit.) that the intoxicating to the symbiotic for the was evidence prove m return quality of the darnel known in France, where the fungus, fungus; that is, the grain, suppliesa narcotic intoxicant liquor used to be pro- it receives from o with lolium. If nourishment a large numberduced by brewing barley mixed the grain with protein. Quite the intoxicating property of the darnel grains be exploited in future a new aspect of the toxicology 0[ Excepting barley seeds, which have 2 to 3 layers of lolium and a new problem in excise will be aleurone in the cereals the outermost cells of cells, layer created. ?f the differentiated from the as the endosperm get [est aleurone These aleurone cells con- The writers are indebted to S. N. tain special layer. Bal. M.sc., ph c types of protein crystals called aleurone Curator, Botanical Survey of India, Indian Museum which are associated with for the gains' s6metimes complex Calcutta, supply of samples of wheat and ^organic salts like double salts of calcium and darnel seed. Magnesium phosphate. 296 THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE [Aug., 1946

REFERENCES Blatter, E., and Mc- The Bombay Grasses. Impl. Cann, C. (1935). Council of Agr. Res. Monograph No. 5. Bor, N. L. (1940) .. Flora of Assam, B. Prabasi Press, Calcutta. Brenchley, W. E. (1920). Weeds of Farm Land. Longmans, Green and Co., London. Brinton, D. (1946) .. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, 39, 173. Engler, A., and Diels, Syllabus der Pflanzen Fami- L. (1936). lien. Gebruder Borntraeger, Berlin. Freeman, E. M. (1903). Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., London (B), 196, 1-27. Idem (1906). Ann. Mycol., 4, 32-34. Gamble, J. S. (1928) .. Flora of the Presidency of Madras, 3. Gassner, G. (1931) .. Mikroskopische Untersuchung Pflanzlicher Nahrungs und Genussmittel. Gustav Fis-* cher Jena Haines, H. H. (1925) .. The Botany of Bihar and Orissa. Adlard and Son and West Newman Ltd., London. Hooker, J. D. (1897) .. Flora of British India, 7. L. Reive and Co., London. Jodidi, S. L., and Peklo, Jour. Agr. Res., Washington, J. (1929). 38, 69-91. Marchionatto, J. B. Biological Abstracts, 9481, (1941). 825. Modi, J. O. (1943) .. A Textbook of Medical Jurisprudence and Toxi- cology. Butterworth and Co., Bombay. Neill, J. C. (1943) .. Review of Applied Mycol- ogy, 22, 138-39. Owens, T. F. (1935) .. Lyon's Medical Jurisprudence for India. Thacker, Spink and Co. (1933), Ltd., Calcutta. Peklo, J. (1913) .. Ber. Deut. Bot. Gesell., 31, 370-384. Prain, David (1903) .. Bengal Plants. W. Newman and Co., Calcutta.