Why is solanine dangerous in potatoes?

Potatoes are one of the most famous and popular vegetables in the world. It is grown in 100 countries. About 4,000 varieties of potatoes are known: breeders develop new crops every year. Potatoes are one of the world's staple foods and are used in thousands of different dishes.

However, not everyone knows that this seemingly completely safe and beloved vegetable can provoke severe poisoning with a fatal outcome. Green tubers, which contain large amounts of solanine, are dangerous to humans. Read the article about why this compound accumulates in green potatoes, why it is dangerous and how to get rid of it.

What is solanine

When asked whether it is possible to be poisoned by potatoes, most people will answer negatively without hesitation. And they will be wrong. Poisoning by such a familiar vegetable is very common and has varying degrees of severity - from mild illness to disability and even death.

What kind of poison is in potatoes? Such a serious danger to humans is posed by a potato alkaloid called solanine.

Solanine is a dangerous and extremely poisonous plant toxin, a compound of solanidine and glucose. This substance is produced in varying amounts in all plants of the nightshade family.

This is interesting! The word "solanine" is often misspelled.In fact, the correct spelling of the substance is not difficult to remember: it comes from the Latin name of the nightshade family - Solanaceae.

Biologists believe that plants produce solanine to protect themselves from germs, fungi and insects that eat fruits and leaves. Indeed, when planting potatoes, greened tubers have a better chance of producing healthy offspring.

In potatoes, the highest concentration of solanine is found in the stem, leaves and berries. If we talk about tubers, then most of the toxin is in the peel, the layer that is located directly under it (as a rule, the maximum thickness of this layer is 1-2 mm), damaged areas, as well as in the “eyes” - potato buds.

The most obvious sign of the presence of solanine is green color of potato. It indicates that the storage conditions of vegetables were violated. Some people mistakenly believe that it is solanine that gives the tubers their color, but this is not so. The poison in green potatoes has no color, but chlorophyll gives it a green tint.. This is an absolutely harmless substance, without which the process of photosynthesis is impossible. However, it is also true that green tubers contain the most solanine.

Is it possible to get seriously poisoned by potatoes?

Many people have heard since childhood that they should not eat green potatoes, but they hardly know why they are dangerous. And it’s hard to believe that such familiar food can pose a serious danger. However, this is a confirmed fact.

Since the 19th century, when potatoes became widespread, cases of tuber poisoning have been recorded around the world. For the most part, the symptoms were moderately dangerous - headache, weakness, nausea with vomiting and diarrhea. But in some people the poisoning was extremely severe.

Newspapers and medical journals wrote about both mass and isolated potato poisonings. Symptoms included seizures, paralysis, coma, and volvulus. Doctors were unable to save some of the victims, including small children.

This is interesting! In 1979, a mass poisoning occurred in a London boys' school. 78 students and several teachers were hospitalized with complaints of severe abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea. Some suffered convulsions, and others fell into a coma. The investigation discovered the cause of the incident. These were potatoes that had been stored in the school basement for a whole year.

Now the percentage of fatal poisonings is negligible, since patients receive timely medical care, and the risk of buying poisoned potatoes is low due to mandatory checks of goods arriving in stores. But this does not mean that there is no reason for concern.

The effect of solanine on the body

About two hours after eating poisonous potatoes, solanine from the digestive system enters the bloodstream and spreads throughout the body.. This is when toxic damage to the body begins.

The effect of solanine depends greatly on its amount. Small doses of the toxin do not cause significant harm and can only cause mild discomfort. But the big ones can be extremely dangerous.

Solanine causes the greatest harm to the nervous, respiratory and circulatory systems, as well as the kidneys. Large doses of the toxin depress the nervous system, destroy red blood cells, resulting in hemolysis. The blood supply to the kidneys is disrupted and extremely dangerous renal failure occurs.

If the human body is weakened due to illness, pregnancy, old age or too young, such effects can lead to severe consequences and even death.

This is interesting! You can often observe how raw peeled potatoes, after lying in the air for some time, darken. The reason for this is the dye melanin. In potatoes it is formed due to the oxidation of tyrosine and tuber enzymes. This pigment is harmless. The only thing it affects is the taste and nutritional properties of the product. Therefore, peeled potatoes must be cooked immediately.

Dangerous dosage of solanine

A small amount of solanine in the amount of 20-30 mg does not pose any danger. The body successfully breaks it down into harmless components and removes it. A dose of 200-400 mg causes severe intoxication. Characteristic symptoms of acute poisoning appear. Starting from 500 mg, solanine is already deadly even for an adult.

In fresh potatoes, the concentration of this toxin is only 0.05%. It is not difficult to calculate that in this case a person will be seriously poisoned only if he eats 2-3 kg of green potatoes at a time, which is extremely difficult. But solanine has two unpleasant features.

1. The concentration of solanine in potatoes will increase greatly if they are stored in light. In tubers that were kept for several months in a bright room or under the sun, the concentration of the toxin reaches 100-150 mg per 100 g, which is 10 times higher than the safe norm.
2. Solanine tends to accumulate. It takes at least 24 hours for the body to break it down and eliminate it.

Symptoms of poisoning

Poisoning solanine occurs in the same way and with the same symptoms as any other food intoxication.The only difference can be called that its signs appear 2-3, and sometimes even 8-12 hours after feeding. This is due to the fact that dangerous doses of solanine accumulate in the body gradually.

Signs of solanine poisoning include:

• bitterness and burning in the mouth, sore throat;
• heat;
• dyspnea;
• cardiopalmus;
• dilated pupils;
• lethargy;
• increased salivation;
• stomach cramps;
• attacks of nausea and vomiting;
• diarrhea;
• dizziness and severe headaches;
• drowsiness;
• fainting, convulsions.

In case of severe poisoning, the victim’s consciousness becomes confused and speech becomes incoherent. Some patients lose consciousness and fall into a coma. All these are signs of depression of the nervous system, which is greatly affected by the toxin.

Depending on the type and strength of symptoms, it is customary to distinguish three degrees of severity of solanine poisoning:

1. Mild poisoning. It is characterized by digestive upset, severe headache and abdominal pain. The poisoned person feels sick and vomits about 3-6 times a day.
2. Moderate poisoning. The symptoms are similar to mild poisoning, but much stronger. Severe and painful stomach cramps, diarrhea and very frequent vomiting occur. The poisoned person begins to feel dizzy, blood pressure rises, and tachycardia (rapid and uneven heartbeat) is observed.
3. Severe poisoning. The victim experiences fainting and convulsions, and the function of the heart and kidneys is impaired. The face becomes pale and the lips turn blue. In case of severe poisoning, the patient may fall into a coma.

The first signs are a feeling of nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea.With more severe intoxication, headaches occur, weakness appears throughout the body, the temperature rises, and consciousness may become clouded. This means that the toxin has begun to depress the nervous system.

First aid

First aid actions depend on the severity of the poisoning. The degree of intoxication is determined so as not to harm the victim and not to miss symptoms that require mandatory medical intervention.

In case of mild poisoning, it is quite enough to simply take a sorbent, for example, activated carbon or Smecta, and drink more unsweetened liquid. As a rule, after 1-2 days the body completely copes with the toxin and removes it.

But if the victim has slurred speech, confusion, poor coordination, convulsions and constant vomiting with diarrhea, call an ambulance. All these are signs of acute poisoning and cannot be treated at home.

Important! Solanine causes the greatest harm to young children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with serious chronic diseases. If the victim falls into one of these categories, it is imperative to call a doctor.

Before a specialist arrives, you can provide the following assistance to the victim:

• perform gastric lavage and induce vomiting;
• give a sorbent - “Enterosgel”, activated carbon or “Smecta”;
• Give the poisoned person plenty to drink to prevent dehydration.

How to recognize poisonous potatoes

The most striking marker of a poisonous potato is its green color. This is clear evidence that the tubers were left in the sun for a long time and the concentration of the toxin in them increased.

Not only green potatoes can be poisonous, so you need to pay attention not only to the color, but also to the taste of the tubers. If potatoes are bitter and when you eat them, your throat starts to feel sore, this is a sure sign of a high concentration of toxin.

Vegetables whose integrity is compromised are also dangerous. As you know, solanine plays a protective function, so when damaged, its concentration increases. Avoid buying tubers that are cracked, cut or peeled.

It is also better to throw away sprouted potatoes. In places where potato buds appear, the amount of solanine always increases, since growth provokes the production of this substance.

The shelf life of potatoes is important. It is advisable that it does not exceed three months. Tubers that have been lying around longer have a rougher and thicker skin, and the amount of toxin increases. Therefore, it is safest to buy packaged potatoes, where the harvest date is indicated on the bags.

The concentration of solanine is extremely high in young potatoes that have not yet ripened. Closer to autumn, when the tubers ripen, it decreases. But during long-term storage, the solanine content increases again, and potatoes that have been stored until spring and summer become potentially dangerous.

If you grow potatoes yourself, monitor the planting depth and be sure to hill up the plants. If the tubers were planted too close to the surface, some of the potatoes from the new harvest may end up above the ground and exposed to the sun, which should not be allowed.

Read also:

What to do if the melon is not ripe.

Do picked watermelons ripen at home?

How to water peppers in open ground correctly.

How to properly store potatoes

The production of solanine in potatoes is most strongly influenced by the quality and shelf life of potatoes.It is because of violation of storage conditions that the toxic substance in green potatoes reaches a concentration that is dangerous to health.

To protect yourself, follow these rules:

1. Do not forget that before purchasing potatoes, they are stored in warehouses or store displays. Therefore, it is safest to buy already packaged tubers with the packing date indicated on the bags. This eliminates the risk of buying stale vegetables. Avoid buying potatoes from open displays from street vendors.
2. The main factor for intense solanine production is sunlight. For this reason, potatoes are stored in the dark and cool to avoid sprouting. For this, it is preferable to use opaque linen bags.
3. Inspect stored potatoes periodically. Throw away green and sprouted tubers.
4. It is important to remember how long the potatoes have been in storage. In older tubers, the skin becomes thicker and the solanine content underneath increases. Cut the peel thoroughly, capturing the layer underneath.

Can I eat cut green potatoes?

In green potatoes, the greatest accumulation of solanine is observed in the peel and “eyes” if it has had time to germinate, which happens quite often.

If you carefully peel the peel, cutting off the inner layer of the tuber along with it, you can get rid of about 80% of the solanine.

Eating small amounts of potatoes will not cause dangerous consequences. But symptoms may still appear later if a dangerous amount of toxin accumulates in the body after several meals.

The current question is whether solanine is destroyed when potatoes are cooked. There is a strong belief that cooking helps to cope with all harmful substances.However, there are a number of dangerous nuances here too.

The substance does not dissolve in water, so rinsing will not bring results. However, when boiled, some of the toxin is released from the root vegetable into the water, and the potato becomes much safer. However, cases of poisoning from boiled potatoes are still not uncommon. Therefore, the best solution would be to get rid of the green tubers.

Conclusion

Solanine in potatoes is an extremely dangerous compound that can cause serious harm to unwary potato eaters. However, the risk of poisoning can be reduced to zero if you follow simple rules when storing and consuming potatoes.

Under no circumstances should you eat green potatoes with sprouted tubers. Observe storage conditions and keep potatoes in dark places where the sun does not penetrate. Try not to buy potatoes from open displays from street vendors. In this case, you can treat yourself to any potato dishes without any fear.