Potato
Scientific Name(s): Solanum tuberosum L. Family: Solanaceae (nightshades)
Common Name(s): Potato , white potato
Clinical Overview
 |
Uses of Potato
Potatoes are rich in starch and may affect glycemic control and insulin levels of diabetic persons.
Potato Dosing
There is no clinical evidence to support specific dosage of potato. The widespread food use of the tubers is tempered by the occurrence of toxic alkaloids in sprouting potatoes and in foliage.
Contraindications
Contraindications have not yet been identified.
Pregnancy/Lactation
Generally recognized as safe or used as food. Avoid dosages above those found in food because safety and efficacy are unproven.
Potato Interactions
None well documented.
Potato Adverse Reactions
Exposure to potato dust has demonstrated a high incidence of work-related respiratory and general symptoms.
Toxicology
Ingestion of damaged or green potatoes can result in GI and neurological disturbances, sometimes severe enough to be fatal.
Botany
The potato is a weedy plant recognized for its tuberous growth and valued as a commercial foodstuff. Potatoes are propagated vegetatively from the underground runners of the plant from the “eyes” of the potato. 1
History
Potatoes have been cultivated since 500 BC; the Central and South American Indians were probably among the first to select hardy cultivators of the potato as a food staple. 1 , 2 Despite the Spanish introduction of the plant into Europe in the late 1500s, the tubers did not become a popular food source until the 17th century because of church and mythological concerns about the toxicity of the plant. Once accepted, potatoes were widely disseminated to Germany, other parts of Europe and Russia.
By the 17th and 18th centuries, potatoes formed such a significant part of the Irish diet that intake for adults exceeded 8 lbs/day. However, the potato blight destroyed more than 80% of the crop, resulting in the starvation of more than 3 million Irish. 2
Traditional uses of the potato include: using raw potato poultices for arthritis, infections, boils, burns and sore eyes; brewing potato peel tea to soothe edema or bodily swelling; and drinking raw potato juice to soothe gastritis or stomach disorders. 3 No clinical data exist to support these uses.
Today, the potato remains an important food with over 200 metric tons being harvested annually worldwide; surpassed only by wheat. 2 Potatoes are also used as a source of starch 4 and alcohol.
Chemistry
Potatoes are a poor source of protein, with only about 5% of the composition being protein. They are, however, reasonable sources of iron, riboflavin and vitamin C, 1 which are found primarily in the thick periderm of the skin. 2 The potato contains a variety of steroidal alkaloids chemically related to the cholestane ring structure. Examples of these compounds include solasodine and solanidine. 5 Potatoes are rich in starch, and potato maltodextrin may be used in the preparation of commercial foods. 6
Potato Uses and Pharmacology
Over 2000 species of Solanum are potentially toxic; S. tuberosum is one of only six of these species that produces a tuber. 2 Crop residues from the potato are often implicated in animal/livestock toxicoses.
Dosage
There is no clinical evidence to support specific dosage of potato. The widespread food use of the tubers is tempered by the occurrence of toxic alkaloids in sprouting potatoes and in foliage.
Pregnancy/Lactation
Generally recognized as safe or used as food. Avoid dosages above those found in food because safety and efficacy are unproven.
Interactions
None well documented.
Adverse Reactions
Because potatoes may be high in bacteria and fungi, persons exposed to potato dust have demonstrated a high incidence of work-related respiratory and general symptoms; 7 , 8 in one survey, 46% of those assessed had respiratory symptoms secondary to exposure to potato dust. 7
Potatoes may affect glycemic control 9 and insulin levels; therefore, diabetic persons may eat the vegetables as appropriate starch equivalents.
Toxicology
The toxicity is related to the presence of the steroidal solanum alkaloids. The solanum glycosides, such as solanine, produce gastrointestinal disturbances including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and hemolytic and hemorrhagic damage to the gastrointestinal tract. 5 Solanine may also cause an exanthemous syndrome which, together with gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms, may be severe enough to be fatal. 10 Solanine is not destroyed in the cooking process. 11 Ingested solanine is relatively less toxic than that administered parenterally. 10 The biological half-life of solanine is 11 hours. 12
Even though human fatalities due to the consumption of green potatoes have been reported periodically, proof that solanine was the causal agent has not been firmly established. 11 Concentrations of 38 to 45 mg/100 g solanine have been found in potatoes implicated in human fatalities, compared to 3 to 66 mg/100 g in fresh, healthy potatoes. 11 A level of 20 mg/100 g is generally considered the upper limit of safety. 11
Solanine has been specifically implicated in the development of fetal malformation in livestock. 5 Solasodine is teratogenic in hamsters when given orally; in some experiments in which pregnant hamsters were fed potato extracts, more than one-quarter of the pups exhibited malformations. 5 Other studies have found that neural tube defects in hamsters may be caused by the solanidine triglycosides, alpha-chaconine and high-dose solanine. 13
The association between the ingestion of blighted potatoes by pregnant women and subsequent fetal deformities in offspring has not been well established, but remains a growing concern. Anencephaly may have been associated with the ingestion of potatoes infected with Phytophthora infestans in women in the Congo. 14
Potatoes also contain contain a variety of compounds that may potentially interfere with biological systems. These include cholinesterase inhibitors, invertase inhibitors and protease inhibitors; 11 all may have evolved as part of a defense mechanism toward invading microbes.
Bibliography
1. Mabberley DJ. The plant-book . Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1987.2. Spoerke D. Vet Human Toxicol . 1994;36:324.
3. Boyd E, et al. Home Remedies and the Black Elderly: A Reference Manual for Health Care Providers . Levittown, PA: Pharmaceutical Information Associates, Ltd., 1991.
4. Evans, WC. Trease and Evans' Pharmacognosy , ed. 13. London: Bailliére Tindall, 1989.
5. Kinghorn D, ed. Toxic Plants . New York: Columbia University Press, 1979.
6. Specter SE, Setser CS. J Dairy Sci . 1994;77:708.
7. Dutkiewicz J. Am J Ind Med . 1994;25:43.
8. Hollander A, et al. Occup Environ Med . 1994;51:73.
9. Gannon MC, et al. Diabetes Care . 1993;16:874.
10. Dalvi RR, Bowie WC. Vet Human Toxicol . 1983;25:13.
11. Liener IE, ed. Toxic Constituents of Plant Foodstuffs , ed. 2. New York: Academic Press, 1980.
12. Hellenas KE, et al. J Chromatogr . 1992;573:69.
13. Renwick JH, et al. Teratology . 1984;30:371.
14. Iioki LH, et al. J Gynecol Obstet Biol Reprod . 1993;22:621.
| Link to Page | Print Page | Email Page |  | Add to List |
