Recommended: Elderly people should not eat eggplant raw

Everyone knows that you should not eat sprouted potatoes. This is because solanine is produced when potatoes sprout. But you must not know that eggplant also contains this kind of substance, which is called solanine. Solanine has the effects of strengthening the heart, lowering blood pressure, inhibiting cancer cells, and inhibiting microorganisms. It is one of the sources of the health care effects of eggplant; however, poisoning can also occur when the human body consumes high amounts.

Scientific research has found that the solanine content in underripe eggplants is higher than that in mature eggplants. Eggplants in the peak harvesting period have high solanine content, while eggplants picked during the quick harvest period have low solanine content. The measurement also found that the color of the eggplant skin is closely related to the content of solanine in the eggplant. The content of solanine in purple eggplant is high, while the content of green eggplant is low. In other words, the darker the eggplant, the higher the solanine content.

However, solanine does not exist in the eggplant skin, but mainly in the pulp. Therefore, it is ineffective to peel off the eggplant skin to avoid ingesting toxins. At the same time, solanine is basically insoluble in water, so it cannot be removed by blanching or boiling. The only way is to control your intake.

Fortunately, the solanine content in eggplant is low, and the highest variety does not exceed 0.8 mg per gram of dry weight. If converted into fresh eggplants, it takes about 450 grams. Only such high solanine eggplants can reach the intake of 25 mg. At this time, nausea and vomiting may occur. Only 400 milligrams of solanine can be fatal to an adult. Therefore, eating half a pound of eggplant with one meal will not cause any trouble under normal circumstances.

People have heard that raw tomatoes are poisonous, and the problem is solanine. Eating 80-100 grams of pure green tomatoes may reach a level of solanine that makes people feel sick and uncomfortable. However, green tomatoes are not as scary as you think. As long as you stop eating them, the symptoms will gradually ease. But eating more than 1.15 kilograms is life-threatening.