Yes, indians of the american southwest use a lime solution for their corn
meal to avoid this problem.
Quoted message said:If I remember my biochemistry right, the reason pellagra occurs in groups
who consume a lot of corn is that the corn is their major source of
protein and corn is deficient in tryptophan. One of the more minor
metabolic pathways for tryptophan leads to nicotinic acid (a form of
niacin) and is capable of supplying about half the daily requirement of
niacin (note that "vitamin" doesn't imply "can't be synthesized by the
body at all" but merely "can't be synthesized by the body in adequate
amounts"😉. People whose diet has corn as its major protein source
generally don't consume many dietary sources of niacin as such. In
short, they're malnourished. Increasing the amount of corn in the diet
of a person who isn't malnourished will *not* cause a niacin deficiency.