Ingestion of solanine in moderate amounts can cause death. One study suggests that doses of 2 to 5 mg/kg of body weight can cause toxic symptoms, and doses of 3 to 6 mg/kg of body weight can be fatal.
How much solanine is too much?
It is suggested that doses of 200–400 mg for adult humans can cause toxic symptoms (20–40 mg for children). Most commercial potatoes have a solanine content of less than 0.2 mg g−1. However, potatoes that have been exposed to light and have started to turn green can show higher concentrations.
How much solanine is safe?
That means that eating a 16-ounce (450 g) potato that has surpassed the acceptable level of 20 mg solanine per 3.5 ounces (100 g) would be enough to make a 110-pound (50-kg) person sick.
How much green potato is poisonous?
According to a recent report by Alexander Pavlista, a professor of agronomy and horticulture at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, a 100-pound person would have to eat about 16 ounces of a fully green potato to get sick.
How does the body get rid of solanine?
Most people can easily cope with the solanine in the average portion of potato and show no symptoms of poisoning because the body can break it down and rapidly and excrete the products in the urine.
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