GLYCOALKALOID CONTENT OF EARLY POTATO VARIETIES

Samples of Swedish domestic early potatoes were collected from wholesalers and analysed for their content of glycoalkaloids (GA), alpha-solanine and alpha-chaconine, using a modified HPLC procedure. The varieties included were, in order of increasing GA content; Maris Bard, Ukama, Provita, Evergood Eldorado, Maria, Early Puritan, Silla and Ulster Chieftain. The average total GA content (alpha-solanine and alpha-chaconine combined) for the different varieties ranged from 51 to 221 mg kg(-1) fresh weight. Alpha-solanine constituted on average between 35 and 41% of the GA detected. The GA concentrations in individual samples were in the range 31-344 mg kg(-1). The variety Ulster Chieftain accounted for 88% of the samples above 200 mg kg(-1). The results obtained with tubers grown experimentally in field trials in two different years were consistent with the findings for commercially grown potatoes in terms of GA content rank among varieties.