Potato alkaloids.

Alkaloids are nitrogenous compound that some plants have Alkaloids are nitrogenous compound that some plants have, and that provoke physiological effects in humans and animals.

Psychedelic drugs as cocaine, morphine or semisynthetic LSD are very famous alkaloids, known by their toxicity.

But alkaloids are not only used as entertainment drugs, some of them are used for diseases treatment. Quinine for example is widely used for malaria treatment.

Maybe we haven’t thought before about the products we use everyday, such as the potato. In the potato there are substances that may be toxic (depending on the concentration).

Potato is a product full of nutrients and used correctly it can give a fantastic meal. On the contrary, it can be a harmful product if we use it badly.

Toxicity depends on an alkaloid, solanine, that the tuber and the plant have, and that cause neurological and digestive problems, together with stomach pain, nauseas, head pain, allergies...

Solanine is found in a very tiny green layer beneath the skin, so eating potatoes with skin makes us eat this alkaloid.

Anyway the amount of solanine that potato have is small (most of them have only 0,2 mg/g), so we can eat potato skin sometimes, with no real risk.

But when they start to grow sprouts, or they are still green, the concentration may be more than 1 mg/g, so it becomes more dangerous.

Alkaloid concentration increases also in old potatoes, so we have to eat them when they are still fresh.

To avoid solanine, we have to remove the skin of these old potatoes, also for cooking, and that’s it.