Pellagra is a vitamin deficiency disease most commonly caused by a chronic lack of niacin (vitamin B3) in the diet. It can be caused by decreased intake of niacin, tryptophan, or perhaps leucine. It may also result from alterations in protein metabolism in disorders such as carcinoid syndrome.
The traditional food preparation method of corn, nixtamalization, by native New World cultivators who had domesticated corn required treatment of the grain...
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Pellagra is a vitamin deficiency disease most commonly caused by a chronic lack of niacin (vitamin B3) in the diet. It can be caused by decreased intake of niacin, tryptophan, or perhaps leucine. It may also result from alterations in protein metabolism in disorders such as carcinoid syndrome.
The traditional food preparation method of corn, nixtamalization, by native New World cultivators who had domesticated corn required treatment of the grain with lime, an alkali. It has now been shown that the lime treatment makes niacin nutritionally available and reduces the chance of developing pellagra. When corn cultivation was adopted worldwide, this preparation method was not accepted because the benefit was not understood. The original cultivators, often heavily dependent on corn, did not suffer from pellagra. Pellagra became common only when corn became a staple that was eaten without the traditional treatment.
Pellagra was first described in Spain in 1735 by Gaspar Casal, who published...
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