title: Potato glycoalkaloids: true safety or false sense of security?
abstract: As one of the major agricultural crops, the cultivated potato is consumed each day by millions of people from diverse cultural backgrounds. A product of global importance, the potato tuber contains toxic glycoalkaloids (GAs) that cause sporadic outbreaks of poisoning in humans, as well as many livestock deaths. This article will discuss some aspects of the potato GAs, including their toxic effects and risk factors, methods of detection of GAs and biotechnological aspects of potato breeding. An attempt has been made to answer a question of vital importance - are potato GAs dangerous to humans and animals and, if so, to what extent?
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 150 Zabolotnogo St, UA-03143, Kyiv, Ukraine. korpan@imbg.org.ua
authors.forename: Yaroslav I
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Korpan
authors.forename: Elena A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Nazarenko
authors.forename: Irina V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Skryshevskaya
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martelet
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jaffrezic-Renault
authors.forename: Anna V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: El'skaya
mesh_terms: D000014:Abnormalities, Drug-Induced / Q000209:etiology; D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002468:Cell Physiological Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects; D004249:DNA Damage; D006801:Humans; D010939:Plant Poisoning / Q000209:etiology; D012991:Solanaceous Alkaloids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012992:Solanine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D011198:Solanum tuberosum / Q000737:chemistry*; D014780:Viruses / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D012991:Solanaceous Alkaloids; D012992:Solanine; C011860:alpha-chaconine; C026608:alpha-solamargine; C012037:solasodine