Glycoalkaloids Content influenced by Tuber Parts and Storage Period in Major Potato Cultivars of Korea

Abstract

: Potato glycoalkaloids (PGAs) are potentially toxic to humans at high levels, and current safety regulations have recommended that PGAs content in tubers of potato cultivars should not exceed 20 mg/100gFW. Accordingly, it is important to determine the PGAs composition and level on potato cultivars for food safety and the breeding for new cultivars with low levels of PGAs. The main aim of this study was to evaluate α-chaconine, α-solanine, and total PGAs content in the peel and cortex portions in four recent cultivars ('Haryoung', 'Goun', 'Hongyoung' and 'Jayoung'), released by Highland Agriculture Research Center, together with 'Superior' and 'Atlantic'. The total PGAs ranged from 16.5 to 47.7 mg/100gFW. The α-solanine/α -chaconine ratio was 1:3.2 ('Jayoung'), 1:3.5 ('Hongyoung') and 1:2 ('Superior'), whereas α-solanine was not detected in 'Goun', 'Atlantic' and 'Hongyoung' under the analytical condition of this experiment. 75-94% of total PGAs was existed in the peel part of all cultivars. We selected two cultivars ('Atlantic' and 'Goun') showing lower PGAs content in the cortex part. During storage at 4°C, total PGAs content fluctuated widely in early stage of storage and stabilized gradually over time in 'Hongyoung', 'Superior' and 'Jayoung'. Thus, through the selection of cultivars and storage conditions, these results will provide consumers and breeders with fundamental information about the content of PGAs in Korea major cultivars.