page_title: Solanum americanum
section_title: Toxicity
hierarchical_section_title: Solanum americanum / Toxicity
caption_attribution_description: Pōpolo or glossy nightshade Solanaceae Indigenous? to the Hawaiian islands Oʻahu (Cultivated) Young shoots were blanched or eaten raw. Purple fruits are regularly eaten by early Hawaiians as they are today. The taste is mildly sweet with a hint of tomato nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Solanum_americanum
context_page_description: Solanum americanum, commonly known as American black nightshade, small-flowered nightshade or glossy nightshade is a herbaceous flowering plant of wide though uncertain native range. The certain native range encompasses the tropics and subtropics of the Americas, Melanesia, New Guinea, and Australia.
  The plant is widely naturalised around the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, including Hawaiʻi, Indochina, Madagascar and Africa, possibly via anthropogenic introduction in these locales.
  Solanum americanum is one of the most widespread and morphologically variable species belonging to the section Solanum. It can be confused with other black nightshade species in the Solanum nigrum complex.
context_section_description: Research indicates the presence of toxic glycoalkaloids and there are warnings to be careful on the use of S.americanum as herbal medicine and food. The green fruit is particularly poisonous and eating unripe berries has caused the death of children.  Ripe berries and foliage may also cause poisoning, though the toxicity seems to diminish somewhat with ripening. This is via high levels of the glycoalkaloids, solanine and solamargine. Other toxins present in the plant include chaconine, solasonine, solanigrine, gitogenin and traces of saponins, as well as the tropane alkaloids scopolamine (hyoscine), atropine and hyoscyamine.
  Significant amounts of solasodine (0.65%) have been found in the green berries.  The ripe fruit also contains 0.3–0.45% solasonine, and acetylcholine, and has a cholinesterase-inhibiting effect on human plasma. In Transkei, rural people have a high incidence of esophageal cancer thought to be a result of using S.americanum as a food. Livestock can also be poisoned by high nitrate levels in the leaves.
  Toxicity varies widely depending on the genetic strain and the location conditions, like soil and rainfall. Poisonous plant experts advise: "...unless you are certain that the berries are from an edible strain, leave them alone."
caption: Solanum americanum berries
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot S5 IS", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "picnik.com", "Image DateTime": "2010:08:16 11:04:30", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "198", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "180", "Thumbnail YResolution": "180", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1600", "EXIF FNumber": "9/2", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "800", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2010:08:16 11:04:30", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2010:08:16 11:04:30", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "104742/9829", "EXIF ApertureValue": "16205/3734", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "5365/1872", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "6", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3264", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2448", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "43520/3", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "2448000/169", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}