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The Nightshade Family
Meet the plant family which contains friends and enemies.
The friends of man
Nightshade vegetables are part of the plant family Solanaceae. Nightshades contain a glycoalkaloid called solanine (see where the family name comes from?), which is toxic in high concentrations. The nightshades generate many glycoalkaloids which act as the plant’s first line of defense against bugs, viruses, bacteria, animals, and even humans. In addition to the glycoalkaloids, nightshades contain several other chemical compounds that can have harmful effects on the human body. The worst offenders, the ones most likely to impact your health (in addition to the glycoalkaloids) are saponins, calcitriol, nicotine (see where we’re going?), and capsaicin.
In spite of all the above negatives most of us eat nightshades on an almost daily basis. With many of them as long as we don’t eat too much of them they won’t kill us.
The most popular one is the tomato. Tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, including biotin, potassium, iron, and zinc. They also contain the antioxidant lycopene, which some say reduces inflammation.
White (but not sweet) potatoes are nightshades. But be careful. The leafy stalks of the potato plant and green potatoes are poisonous.
