Favism is an acute anemic crisis that can occur in susceptible individuals who ingest fava beans. The fava bean pyrimidine aglycone divicine has been identified as a hemotoxic constituent; however, its mechanism of toxicity remains unknown. We have shown recently that divicine can induce a favic-like response in rats and that divicine is directly toxic to rat red cells. In the present study, we...

I N OUR PREVIOUS communications we reported! on a glutathione deficiency existing in eryt hrocytes of persons with a past history of favism or hemolytic anemia due to drugs. This dieficiency seemedi to be familial, since a high proportion of family members of the affected persons also had low glutathione concentrations in their ‘ ‘ Independently, Sansone and! Segni reported low GSH levels in th...

Viciafaba (L), the broad bean, contains a potentially toxic substance, the exact nature of which is unknown, capable of producing a haemolytic crisis in a susceptible person. The crisis may be induced by eating the beans raw or, less commonly, cooked, and in some cases by inhalation of the bean pollen. The erythrocytes of susceptible individuals are deficient in the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate d...

The case of a 44 year old Ashkenazi Jewish woman of Russian origin who presented with a typical clinical and haematological picture of favism is reported. There was initial difficulty in confirming glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency because the enzyme concentrations were normal at presentation, but later fell to a concentration compatible with heterozygosity for the Mediterrane...

Background: Faba bean toxicity (favism) is a common condition observed in our region. Objective: To develop a short and simple technique involving the use of riboflavin-deficient rats to test in vivo faba bean toxicity. Methods/Results: Sprague Dawley rats were maintained on a riboflavin-deficient diet and their vitamin B2 status was monitored by the assay of erythrocyte glutathione reductase (...

By A. SZEINBERG, C. SHEBA, NINA HIRSHORN AND EVA B0D0NYI M OST acquired hemolytic anemias (with the exception of acquired idiopathic hemolytic anemia, incotnpatihle blood transfusions and Rh senzitization) and all cases of thalassemia show in this country a well defined ethnographic distribution. Only Jews originating from oriental and Mediterranean countries who have a da.rker consplexion and ...