Can potatoes be eaten after they sprout?

Can you still eat potatoes if they sprout? This question has been a concern for a long time. Here is the answer.

potato

Potato, also known as potato, yam egg, is a popular food, which is widely planted all over the country. It is one of the main dishes for northern residents in winter. It is rich in starch and has high nutritional value, which is very popular among people. Mature and fresh potatoes are non-toxic, but eating a lot of sprouted potatoes or green and immature potatoes can cause poisoning.

Potatoes contain a toxin called solanine. Every 100 grams of potatoes contain up to 10 mg of solanine, which will not cause poisoning after people eat them. But when potatoes sprout or the skin changes color, the content of solanine increases significantly, and every 100 grams contains more than 500 mg of solanine, which is 50 times the normal amount. Solanine is a weakly degradable glycoside substance, which can easily cause poisoning after ingestion. Solanine is corrosive and irritating to human mucous membranes, has a paralyzing effect on the central nervous system, can destroy red blood cells in the blood, and even cause congestion and edema of brain tissue.

Can potatoes be eaten after they sprout?

After eating sprouted and immature potatoes, the symptoms will appear in about 10 minutes to 2 hours. The poisoned person will first feel burning and pain in the throat and middle cavity, followed by nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation and numbness of the whole body, a sense of urgency in the throat, weakness in the limbs, ptosis of the eyelids, decreased blood pressure, arrhythmia, dilated pupils, difficulty breathing, coma, and death due to paralysis of the respiratory center and circulatory failure.

If you have eaten sprouted potatoes and the above symptoms occur again, you should think of poisoning: 1. Take strong tea orally immediately, and then stimulate the throat to induce vomiting; 2. Go to the nearest emergency hospital or call 120 emergency center for help in time; 3. Wash the stomach with 1% tannic acid solution or strong green tea, and then inject 5 raw egg whites and 20 grams of activated carbon; 4. Take or inject 5% magnesium sulfate as a catharsis; 5. Drink vinegar appropriately; 6. For mild cases, drink more sugar water and warm salt water, and for severe cases, give intravenous drip of glucose saline to promote the elimination of poisons and correct dehydration; 7. Treat the symptoms and use respiratory stimulants when appropriate.

To avoid poisoning from eating sprouted potatoes, store them away from sunlight to prevent sprouting. Potatoes with too many sprouts or green skin and flesh should not be sold or eaten. Publicize to the public frequently that potatoes with discoloration of skin and flesh and too many sprouts are poisonous to increase vigilance. For potatoes with few sprouts, dig out the sprouted part and the part that is close to turning purple, soak them in water for 30 minutes, cook them thoroughly before eating, and add vinegar when cooking to accelerate the destruction of toxins.