title: Zinc-deficient sprouting blight potatoes and their possible relation with neural tube defects.
abstract: Maternal nutritional zinc deficiency is blamed in the pathogenesis of neural tube defects. In animal and plant domains zinc is required for growth and development. The objective of the present study was to show that sprouting blighted potato tuber is zinc deficient. In five potato varieties, zinc was measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry in wet-ashed paired slices of edible potato tuber and in its peel, in blighted potato tuber and in its sprout. Zinc contents were measured as the mean (+/- SEM) and the following values were found, 0.388 +/- 0.036, 0.623 +/- 0.059, 0.550 +/- 0.030 and 1.089 +/- 0.181 mg per 100 g wet weight, respectively. In conclusion, we believe that long-term consumption of zinc-depleted, blight potato tuber by pregnant woman could be potentially teratogenic with the consequent birth of a baby with neural tube defects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Clinical Biochemistry, Celal Bayar University, Faculty of Medicine, 45020 Manisa, Turkey. cevval.ulman@bayar.edu.tr
authors.forename: Cevval
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ulman
authors.forename: Fatma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Taneli
authors.forename: Figen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Oksel
authors.forename: Huseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hakerlerler
mesh_terms: D039382:Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000209:etiology; D011198:Solanum tuberosum / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D015032:Zinc