TOCOSH FLOUR (Solanum tuberosum L.): A Toxicological Assessment of Traditional Peruvian Fermented Potatoes

Abstract

Potato tocosh is a naturally processed potato for nutritional and curative purposes from traditional Peruvian medicine. The aim of this study was to investigate the acute and sub-acute toxicity of tocosh flour (TF). For sub-acute toxicity, TF was administered orally to rats daily once a day for 28 days at doses of 1000 mg/kg body weight (BW). Animals were observed for general behaviors, mortality, body weight variations, and histological analysis. At the end of treatment, relative organ weights, histopathology, hematological and biochemical parameters were analyzed. For acute toxicity, TF was administered orally to mice at doses of 2000 and 5000 mg/kg BW at a single dose in both sexes. Body weight, mortality, and clinical signs were observed for 14 days after treatment. The results of acute toxicity showed that the median lethal dose (LD50) value of TF is higher than 2000 g/kg BW but less than 5000 mg/Kg BW in mice. Death and toxicological symptoms were not found during the treatment. For sub-acute toxicity, we found that no-observed-adverse-effect levels (NOAEL) of TF in rats up to 1000 g/kg BW. There were statistically significant differences in body weight, and relative organ weight in the stomach and brain. No differences in hematological and biochemical parameters were observed when compared with the control group. For sub-acute toxicity, histopathological studies revealed minor abnormalities in liver and kidney tissues at doses of 5000 mg/Kg. Based on these results, TF is a traditional Peruvian medicine with high safety at up to 1000 mg/kg BW for 28 days in rats.

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“…The tocosh flour did not present toxicity at the repeated dose for 28 days in the highest dose corresponding to 1000 mg/kg BW. There were no deaths at up to 5000 mg/kg BW, therefore, the oral LD50 was greater than 5000 mg/kg (Velasco-Chong, et al, 2020).…”

“…In the eleventh paper, Rojas et al (2020) identify new mechanisms that serve as tools for the mitigation of plastic contamination through the biodegradation of low density polyethylene using microorganisms of the species Pseudomona aeruginosa (bacteria) and…”

“…As for changes during the fermentation process of the general appearance and smell of the potato. The phenomenon of transformation of the potato Tocosh loses water and its volume is reduced by about half with the exception of the skin, therefore the Tocosh skin is rough "wrinkled" and the consistency soft; on the other hand, after the fermentation process, it achieves a very peculiar smell that is unpleasant, being less pronounced at the end of fermentation (Velasco-Chong, et al, 2020).…”

“…Potato is undoubtedly one of the most important crops in the country Peru has more than 5,000 potato varieties in terms of area planted (260,000 ha/year), number of producers who depend on it (600,000), contribution to the national economy (11.3% of agricultural GDP) and to the human diet (average consumption of 68.4 kg/inhabitant/year). Potato tocosh is a naturally processed potato for nutritional and healing purposes of traditional Peruvian medicine (Velasco-Chong, et al, 2020).The potato is produced in 19 of Peru's 24 departments, which demonstrates its plasticity in terms of adaptation. As the centre of origin of the potato, Peru maintains a culture of diversity; for this reason, in the mountains, it is common today to find mixed agriculture with native and improved varieties (Velasco-Chong, et al, 2020).…”

“…Potato tocosh is a naturally processed potato for nutritional and healing purposes of traditional Peruvian medicine (Velasco-Chong, et al, 2020).The potato is produced in 19 of Peru's 24 departments, which demonstrates its plasticity in terms of adaptation. As the centre of origin of the potato, Peru maintains a culture of diversity; for this reason, in the mountains, it is common today to find mixed agriculture with native and improved varieties (Velasco-Chong, et al, 2020).…”