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Society of Chemical Industry
'Green' potato health risk can be eliminated by cutting away affected area
Green in potatoes may be a sign of a naturally occurring toxin
Potatoes
that have turned 'green' can potentially contain a naturally occurring
toxin called Glycoalkaloids (GA) and pose a risk to public health
according to a review paper published in the latest online issue of
SCI's
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (JSFA).
However,
the good news is that cutting away the 'green' affected area is enough
to eliminate most of the GAs to reduce the risk.
The paper
also suggests that the levels of GA in potatoes can be controlled
effectively by adopting appropriate pre-harvest and post-harvest
practices – and therefore farmers and producers can do much to reduce
the public risks of GAs.
Some measures include keeping
tubers well covered with soil during growth, allowing them to mature
before harvesting, avoiding harvest at very high temperatures and
minimising exposure to light.
GAs are a naturally occurring
toxic substance in potatoes that have antimicrobial, insecticidal and
fungicidal properties which probably evolved as a protective mechanism
against invasion by foreign bodies to protect the plant against pests
and disease.
However, they can be toxic to humans and can cause serious illness at concentrations of >280 mg kg-1 f.w. (1)
Symptoms
generally occur after 8-12 hours after ingestion and can include
gastrointestinal disturbances and neurological disorders. Mild symptoms
can include headaches, dizziness, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and
diarrhoea. Other symptoms can include restlessness, drowsiness and
mental confusion, trembling and hallucination but because the symptoms
are common to a whole host of other ailments, mistaken diagnoses can
occur.
###
The
review was authored by Prabhat K Nema from the College of Horticulture,
Jawaharlal Nehru Agricultural University, India, who was supported by
the Seligman APV Fellowship in Food Engineering, a scholarship
administered by SCI to help fund research and scientists from overseas;
Professor Niranjan Keshavan and Ramaya Nidhi from the Department of
Food Biosciences, University of Reading; and Eric Duncan from
industrial partner Paragan Flexible, Lincolnshire, which helped support
research on the effect of modified atmosphere packaging on GA levels at
Reading University.
(1) McMillan M and Thompson JC, An
outbreak of suspected solanine poisoning in schoolboys: examination of
criteria of solanine poisoning.
Q J Med 190:227-231 (1979)
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