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Some plant foods evolve defense mechanisms to protect themselves from predators by producing inherent chemicals as secondary metabolites such as cyanogenic glycosides, glycoalkaloids, glucosinolates, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, and lectins. These metabolites are beneficial for the plant itself but toxic to other organisms, including human beings. Some of these toxic chemicals are believed to have therapeutic benefits and are therefore used to protect against chronic health complications such as cancer. Inversely, short- and long-term exposure to significant amounts of these phytotoxins may end up with chronic irreversible negative health problems in important organ systems, and in severe cases, they can be carcinogenic and fatal. A systematic literature search of relevant published articles indexed in Google Scholar®, PubMed®, Scopus®, Springer Link®, Web of Science®, MDPI®, and ScienceDirect databases was used to obtain the necessary information. Various traditional and emerging food-processing techniques have been found to considerably reduce most of the toxicants in the food to their safest level. Despite their ability to preserve the nutritional value of processed foods, emerging food processing methods have limited application and accessibility in middle- and low-income countries. As a consequence, much more work is recommended on the implementation of emerging technologies, with additional scientific work on food processing methods that are effective against these naturally occurring plant food toxicants, particularly pyrrolizidine alkaloids.…

PMID: 37153649

The European Commission asked EFSA for a scientific opinion on the risks for animal and human health related to the presence of glycoalkaloids (GAs) in feed and food. This risk assessment covers edible parts of potato plants and other food plants containing GAs, in particular, tomato and aubergine. In humans, acute toxic effects of potato GAs (α-solanine and α-chaconine) include gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. For these effects, the CONTAM Panel identified a lowest-observed-adverse-effect level of 1 mg total potato GAs/kg body weight (bw) per day as a reference point for the risk characterisation following acute exposure. In humans, no evidence of health problems associated with repeated or long-term intake of GAs via potatoes has been identified. No reference point for chronic exposure could be identified from the experimental animal studies. Occurrence data were available only for α-solanine and α-chaconine, mostly for potatoes. The acute dietary exposure to potato GAs was estimated using a probabilistic approach and applying processing factors for food. Due to the limited data available, a margin of exposure (MOE) approach was applied. The MOEs for the younger age groups indicate a health concern for the food consumption surveys with the highest mean exposure, as well as for the P95 exposure in all surveys. For adult age groups, the MOEs indicate a health concern only for the food consumption surveys with the highest P95 exposures. For tomato and aubergine GAs, the risk to human health could not be characterised due to the lack of occurrence data and the limited toxicity data. For horses, farm and companion animals, no risk characterisation for potato GAs could be performed due to insufficient data on occurrence in feed and on potential adverse effects of GAs in these species.…

PMID: 32788943

Exposure to light induces tuber greening and the accumulation of the toxic alkaloid Solanine in potato (Solanum tuberosum L) during storage greatly reduce tuber value. While the mechanism of this greening process remains unclear, it is well understood that DNA methylation plays an important role in regulating gene expression in response to environmental conditions. In this study, methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism was used to assess the effect of light exposure on DNA methylation during storage of potato tubers. Light-induced genome-wide DNA demethylation and the rate of DNA methylation decreased with long storage times. Following, the sequencing of 14 differentially amplified fragments and analysis using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool, eight genomic sequences and six annotated fragment sequences were identified. The latter included ADP glucose pyrophosphorylase 1/2, chlorophyllide a oxygenase 1 (CAO1), receptor-like protein kinase HAIKU2, and repressor of GA4, all of which are involved in starch biosynthesis, chlorophyll synthesis, endosperm development, and gibberellic acid signaling, respectively. Demethylation was observed in the CpG island (-273 to -166 bp) of the CAO1 promoter in response to light, which further confirmed that the variations in genome methylation are dependent upon the light exposure and suggests a direct role for DNA methylation. Our results provide an epigenetic perspective for further exploring the mechanism of light-induced tuber greening.…

PMID: 34906904

The potato (<i>Solanum tuberosum</i> L.) ranks among the most consumed agricultural products globally and is nutrient-rich. Exposure of potato tubers' epidermal and subcutaneous tissues to light results in greening and the production of neurotoxic steroidal glycoalkaloids, which significantly reduces tuber quality, increases food safety risks, and leads to rejection by consumers and the processing industry. This review conducts an in-depth analysis of three key aspects: (1) the differences in various light conditions, namely, the disparities in light sources, wavelengths, intensities, and durations; (2) the characteristics of potato cultivars resistant to greening; and (3) the molecular mechanisms of light-induced biosynthesis of chlorophyll and steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs). This review is expected to provide technical support for potato food safety measures and a theoretical foundation for the molecular breeding of green-resistant potato varieties.…

PMID: 40428577

Solanaceous plants synthesize the alkaloid alpha-solanine as a chemical defense against herbivorous insects. The plant feeder ladybird Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), specialized on solanaceous hosts, causes significant economic losses to solanaceous crops such as potato, tomato and eggplant through its voracious feeding activity. However, little is known about the underlying adaptive mechanisms that enable Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata to neutralize this plant toxin. Here, through transcriptome analysis and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) validation, we identified a beta-glucosidase gene, HvBgla1, that is significantly up-regulated in response to alpha-solanine ingestion, with particularly high expression observed in midgut tissues. RNA interference (RNAi) mediated silencing of HvBgla1 reduced alpha-solanine degradation, leading to toxin accumulation in the midgut and hindgut. This was accompanied by a decrease in the degradation product solanidine in the midgut, and a reduction in the body weight of newly emerged adults from RNAi-treated larvae. Additionally, phylogenetic analysis revealed that HvBgla1 originated from a lineage-specific duplication clade exclusive to the tribe Epilachnini. These findings suggest that HvBgla1 plays a crucial role in alpha-solanine detoxification, allowing Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata to overcome solanaceous plant defenses. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.…

PMID: 41502025

The fatty acid-solamine conjugate C16:3(7<i>Z</i>,10<i>Z</i>,13<i>Z</i>)-solamine was isolated from leaves of the wild potato species <i>Solanum bulbocastanum</i> and structurally characterized using spectroscopic methods. The exogenous application of C16:3(7<i>Z</i>,10<i>Z</i>,13<i>Z</i>)-solamine reduced the feeding of Colorado potato beetles (<i>Leptinotarsa decemlineata</i>) and potato flea beetles (<i>Epitrix papa</i>) on <i>Solanum tuberosum</i> leaf disks and inhibited the germination of sporangia produced by the oomycete pathogen <i>Phytophthora infestans</i> and subsequent plant infection. The use of liquid chromatography-coupled tandem mass spectrometry enabled the detection and characterization of numerous acyl solamines in <i>S. bulbocastanum</i> leaves and in the belowground organs of numerous accessions of eight wild potato species and of cultivars of <i>S. tuberosum</i>. The annotated acyl solamines comprise medium- and long-chain fatty acyl solamines, whose acyl groups differ in chain length, the number of double bond equivalents, and the number of oxygenations, as well as hydroxycinnamoyl solamines. The profiles of the detected acyl solamines exhibited notable variation between different <i>Solanum</i> species, as well as between different tissues within a species. The potential role of acyl solamines in plant defense and their potential utility in plant protection and resistance breeding are discussed.…

PMID: 40413644