Aubergines and Nicotine

[jamesey]

Hi,

I've read that aubergines contain nicotine. I've just had an aubergine today as an ingredient of a raw soup, but since founding out about them containing nicotine, I'm worried about eating an aubergine again. Does anyone else worry about this, or are they completely safe?

[Revvell]

Google is my friend: The fruit is botanically classified as a berry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berry), and contains numerous small, soft seeds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed), which are edible, but are bitter because they contain (an insignificant amount of) nicotinoid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine) alkaloids (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkaloid), unsurprising as it is a close relative of tobacco (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco).

I don't worry about it. If I don't feel safe eating something, I don't eat it.

[jamesey]

Hmmm... I'm still not sure to eat it any time soon.. can anyone else add to this?

[Tsurugi_Oni]

It's negligible. You would have to eat MANY pounds and pounds of eggplant (one the most dense sources of edible nicotine) to even match a cigarette. I wouldn't worry about it unless you find yourself stranded in an eggplant patch.

[streetsurfer]

I'm with Oni and I wouldn't worry about eating it either. It would likely be broken down safely by digestion and metabolism. In fact it might benefit you in the way of helping fight parasites. Nicotine is a natural pesticide. Other plants known for their healing abilities have substances that are natural pesticides, mullein for one. This benefit is why some peoples chew tobaccy in places where parasites can run rampant, places where medicines are scarce and plants are used for healing. I think it's the repeated consumption, the other additives, and the hydrocarbons that make cigarettes dangerous when burned. I also think in tobacco's natural form it is much safer when vaporized as opposed to burned.