Nicotine content and Dietary composition of some cultivated Species of Solanaceae family

Abstract Despite the fact that vegetables are consumed in large quantities in our environment, there is a dearth of literature that focused on the optimum benefits to man especially in the management of disease like Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Nicotine, the major phyto-constituent of Nicotiana tabacum of the family Solanaceae has been reported to be present in some other species of the family. This study investigated the nicotine content and the dietary components in the leaves and fruits of selected species of cultivated vegetable plants belonging to Solanaceae family. Edible plants from Solanaceae family were grown till the fruiting stage in the experimental farm of Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, while Nicotiana tabacum was used as the control plant. Plants samples from mature leaves and fruits of each plant were harvested washed with de-ionized water, oven dried at 30°C. Powdered samples were analyzed for mineral and proximate components according to standard procedure and nicotine content were determined with GC-MS. Nicotine remained the major constituent of tobacco. Nicotyrine, a product of nicotine dehydrogenation was also detected in all the plant samples. Capsicum annum var. accuminatum fruit displayed the highest nicotine content (0.5543 mg/L) compared to the others with relatively lower quantities. Nicotyrine content was more available in the plant fruits than nicotine, with C. annum var abbreviatum displaying more of nicotyrine content (75.3456 mg/L). Solanum lycopersicum displayed the highest moisture contents (19.94 %), followed by tobacco leaf (11.88%). N. tabacum leaf displayed high quantity of protein (56.52%) than other members. The fruits of the solanaceae plant species were rich in carbohydrate, protein with very low amount of fat. This study revealed that the solanaceae plants contained more of nicotyrine than nicotine. In contrast to the previous studies, the nicotine content was higher in the eggplant leaves than the fruits. Eggplant and Capsicum species can be recommended for patient suffering from neurodegenerative diseases like PD.