What Makes Green Potatoes Poisonous? 78 Kids in 1979 Experienced Convulsion, Comatose

On the second day of the autumn term in 1979, at a small boys' school in South London,78 schoolboys were poisoned by green potatoes.

As indicated in an IFL Science report, having returned to a school in South London after a holiday, a large number of boys instantaneously fell ill, experiencing symptoms from vomiting and diarrhea to fever, and even turning comatose, depression of the nervous system, and, in the most severe cases, "episodes of conclusive twitching."

The boys exhibited peripheral circulatory collapse, even with only slight dehydration. The doctors, who wrote their report in a BMJ case report published that same year, little blood was lost in either the vomit or stool of the boys, despite the several days that symptoms continued in some of them.

A Common Feature of the Western Diet

The cause of the disease was identified fast. Specifically, the schoolboys had all eaten boiled potatoes approximately 14 hours previously. The team of medical professionals reported that potatoes are such a common feature of the Western diet that most people are shocked to discover that they are products of a poisonous plant. In fact, they added, stems and leaves of potatoes contain a series of alkaloidal glycosides, termed solanines, which are considered highly poisonous.

The team cited other cases, including an intoxicated man following the decision to use the potatoes' shoots and leaves "as a vegetable in their own right."

The main danger comes from consuming potatoes after they have turned green, which took place in this case, as the caterers had used a bag of potato leftovers from the past term.

Fortunately, all patients recovered after their treatment at the hospital, although some had a difficult time and hallucinated during their stay.

Detection of Solanines

In the paper, the doctors explained that greening and sprouting occur when potato tubers are exposed to light or are stored or kept in adverse conditions, and such processes are linked to the production of alkaloids.

Initially, this occurs in areas of increased metabolic activity like the "eyes," although eventually, said the team, "solanines can be detected in the flesh of tuber."

Luckily, a few people are cooking greened or sprouted potatoes due to their appearance and their bitter, unpleasant taste, so in practice, solanine poising seems to be rare except in times of scarcity in food.

What's Making Green Potatoes Poisonous?

A Healthline report said that when exposed to light is causing potatoes to produce chlorophyll; it can encourage the generation of certain compounds, which protect against damage from bacteria, insects, fungi, or even hungry animals.

Unfortunately, such compounds can be poisonous to humans. Solanine, in particular, the main toxin produced by potatoes, works by inhibiting an enzyme involved in breaking down specific neurotransmitters. More so, it acts by impairing cell membranes and can adversely impact the intestine's permeability.

Solanine usually exists at low levels in the potatoes' skin and flesh and in higher portions of the potato plant. Yet, potatoes produce most of it when damaged or exposed to sunlight.

Related information about green potatoes is shown on Food Clinic's YouTube video below:

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