Is Eggplant Poisonous?
Whether you stir it into the pasta sauce, grill it in slices or puree it into a Mediterranean dip: the versatile aubergine is versatile. It is said that it is better not to eat the vegetables raw. Eggplant is said to contain the toxin ‘solanine’. But what about that?
Solanine, tomatine and glycoalkaloids
Solanine is a natural toxin found in nightshade vegetables such as potatoes and aubergines. Tomatoes contain a similar toxin called tomatine. These two substances belong to the group of ‘glycoalkaloids’, which are used by plants to protect themselves. At high concentrations this gives a bitter taste.
If you ingest too much solanine or tomatine, it can be harmful to your health. It can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, headache and drowsiness. These substances are also said to affect the joints in large amounts.
This is how you recognize solanine and tomatine
Tomatine occurs only in unripe, green tomatoes. Potatoes are now grown with lower levels of solanine. The poison mainly arises under the influence of light in the peel and in the sprouts or runners. You can recognize solanine in potatoes by the green spots on the skin. You can simply cut these spots away, but you can prevent them by keeping them in the dark.
Solanine in aubergines is not as easy to recognize as in potatoes, although you can taste it from the bitter taste. The more bitter the vegetable, the more glycoalkaloids are present. Despite this, eggplant contains the toxin in lower amounts. So low, in fact, that in practice there are hardly any problems as a result of eating eggplant.
Heating makes little sense
Unfortunately, solanine and tomatine are not easily broken down during cooking, baking and frying. According to the Nutrition Center, heating has little to no effect on the toxins in nightshade vegetables, although solanine does dissolve in the cooking liquid. When draining the cooking liquid, you reduce the solanine content.
Because the amounts of solanine in eggplant are so low, it should not be a problem to eat a piece of raw eggplant now and then, according to the Nutrition Center. However, it is better not to do this too often. To minimize the risk of complaints caused by solanine, the Nutrition Center recommends heating the aubergine before consuming it. This remains the safest way to eat this vegetable. Does your eggplant taste very bitter, even after heating? Then you better leave it alone.
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