Eating too much eggplant will not affect health

Eggplant is a very common vegetable and a favorite
of many people.
Eggplants are delicious, nutritious, and varied
.
According to the shape of its fruit, it can be divided into round tomato, eggplant and long eggplant
.
Eggplants are even distinguished by color, purple, green are more common, and occasionally white
.
What is the difference between different colors of eggplant? Can eggplant be poisoned if you eat too much?

What is the difference between eggplants of different colors? Eggplants currently purchased in supermarkets or farmers' markets are mostly purple, dark purple or purple-black, and occasionally green and white can
be seen.
This difference in color is mainly due to natural factors rather than man-made
.

What determines the color of eggplants? This starts with the pigment, the main source of eggplant epidermal color is chlorophyll and anthocyanins, mainly anthocyanins
.
During the ripening process of eggplant, chlorophyll is continuously degraded, and anthocyanins are continuously produced under the regulation of some genes that synthesize it, and anthocyanins are mainly distributed in the vacuole of eggplant epidermal cells, with the different types and concentrations of anthocyanins, resulting in the skin showing a transition from orange red to purple black color
.
Relatively speaking, green or white eggplant lacks some of the genes
for synthesizing anthocyanins.
During the ripening process of eggplant, the synthesis and accumulation of anthocyanins will also be affected
by light, plant hormones and other factors.
Some eggplants are not properly spaced due to planting, which affects the light during the ripening process, resulting in uneven coloration of color
.
Therefore, although there are some differences in anthocyanins in the skin of eggplants of different colors, considering the content of anthocyanins and the low weight of the skin accounting for the entire fruit, overall, the nutritional value of eggplants of different colors is not much different
.

Do eggplants need to be peeled and eaten? Regarding peeling, many people think that the anthocyanins in the skin of eggplant will combine with the iron in the diet, thus affecting the body's absorption
of iron.
The iron directly absorbed by the human body is mainly divalent iron, and studies have shown that anthocyanins can effectively protect the autooxidation of iron, so there is no need to deliberately peel
it.
In addition, eggplant skin contains nutrients such as vitamin E and rutin
.
In addition to the taste of eggplant skin is not adapted, there is no need to peel, eggplant with skin has a relatively higher nutritional value
.

Can eggplant be poisoned if you eat too much? Eggplant does contain the glycoside alkaloid toxin - solanine
.
Solanine is widely found in nightshade plants such as eggplants, tomatoes, and potatoes
.
Plants produce solanine mainly to resist the invasion of external microorganisms and animals
.
For eggplant, solanine is mainly found in the pulp of eggplant, but its content is not high
.

That the darker the eggplant, the higher the solanine content? The content of solanine in eggplant is mainly related to the physiological metabolism of eggplant, there is no absolute significance of the level, relatively speaking, the light eggplant is lower, and the variety of eggplant is also related
.
Some scholars have studied the content of solanine in different varieties of eggplant, and the results show that the average content of solanine in 100 grams of dried fruit of purple eggplant is about 61 mg (green eggplant is about 19 mg).

In other words, there is actually only about 4 mg of solanine
in 100 grams of purple eggplant.
Solanine is prone to degradation or hydrolysis in high temperature and acidic environments, while the oil temperature is generally high and some seasonings are used during daily cooking, which can reduce its toxicity
.
To reach a level where excessive intake of solanine may cause adverse reactions such as nausea and vomiting, it is necessary to eat more than one pound of eggplant, and considering the loss of solanine during cooking, there is usually no safety risk
in eating eggplant under normal circumstances.

How to buy eggplant? Take a look at the colors
.
Looking at the appearance and luster, usually brightly colored, shiny eggplants are relatively fresh
.
Second, look at the
fruit junction.
Looking at the area where the eggplant sepals and the fruit connect, there is usually a light white or slightly greenish circle of light-colored rings
.
Relatively wide or pronounced, relatively fresh
.
Three touches
.
Judging by touching the feel, the soft and hard are moderate, and the surface can be restored with slight touch, indicating that the moisture of the eggplant pulp tissue is maintained well and relatively fresh
.

To sum up, the nutritional value of eggplants of different colors is not much different, and under normal circumstances, eating eggplants will not be poisoned
.

(Zhang Zhaomin)

China Food News(November 10, 2022, Version 06)

(Responsible editor: Zhu Meiqiao)