Hedysarum species are used as food plants by the
larvae of some
Lepidoptera (moth and butterfly) species including
Coleophora accordella. Some species, such as
Hedysarum alpinum also known as Alpine sweetvetch or wild potato, were eaten by the
Inuit to help ward off the effects of
scurvy due to it being rich in
vitamin C, containing about 21 mg/100g. In his book
Into the Wild,
Jon Krakauer speculated that
Christopher McCandless may have died from eating seeds of
H. alpinum, which Krakauer thought might contain
swainsonine. This theory was later debunked by experts in the field of botany. Krakauer subsequently postulated that the seeds were stored wet in a plastic bag, which may have created a toxic by-product. Krakauer was later validated, to a certain extent. Krakauer explains that he came across the research of Ronald Hamilton, who had concluded that the
neurotoxin oxalyldiaminopropionic acid (ODAP) in the wild potato seed was responsible for a degenerative disease known as
lathyrism. In August 2013, Krakauer sent a modest sample of the seeds for testing, discovering that they contained ".394 per cent beta-ODAP by weight, a concentration well within the levels known to cause lathyrism in humans." Krakauer concludes that "Had McCandless's guidebook to edible plants warned that
Hedysarum alpinum seeds contain a neurotoxin that can cause paralysis, he probably would have walked out of the wild in late August with no more difficulty than when he walked into the wild in April, and would still be alive today." Later, a more detailed mass spectrometric analysis showed, that the poison in
Hedysarum alpinum is
L-canavanine instead of ODAP. ==Wildlife==