My husband is convinced that tomato plants are poisonous. Is he right or just crazy?

The leaves of the tomato ARE poisonous - the offending chemical is an alkyloid called Tomatine.

My husband is convinced that tomato plants are poisonous. Is he right or just crazy?
Tomatoes are a member of the nightshade family, and the leaves and stems are quite poisonous. If you rub a tomato leaf between your fingers, the sharp, "bitter" odor you smell is the poisonous alkaloids it produces. Potatoes, peppers, and other well-known plants also produce these; one of the best-known is belladonna, which is a source of atropine. Of course, the fruit is completely harmless. In that way, animals are discouraged from eating the PLANT (so it survives), but can safely eat the fruit, which contains seeds. Animals excrete the seeds and thus spread them, so that also benefits the survival of the species.





Stay away from the green parts of the plant, and you'll be fine :-)
Reply:He's not crazy. He married you didn't he?
Reply:The tomato plant contains Solanine that is mostly harmful to cats. You need a VERY high concentration of Solanine to poison yourself.
Reply:just eat the fruit... the leaves no! not poisoinous to handle.
Reply:he's right about the plant. the fruit is edible..
Reply:When tomatos first became known, everyone thought they were toxic. It was the lower classes that ate and enjoyed them (and probably chuckled at their well healed friends).





The confusion came about because the tomato plant is a relative of the nightshade, also referred to a deadly nightshade, a favorite of poisoners in the middle ages, and right up to the 1900's. Nightshade contains belladonna, which is toxic, but in small amounts, has some medicinal uses.





The tomato fruit is not toxic, and tomatine , which is contained in the stems and leaves, is not exceptionally toxic, only being dangerous when refined into it's pure form, tomatin.
Reply:LOL! Well, they ARE members of the Nightshade family...which is what convinced people a long time ago that they were poisonous. Ben Franklin grew them as "ornamentals"!





Is your husband perhaps a time travelers from several hundred years ago?





No, Tomato fruits are not posionous...if they were I believe all American children would have been dead for generations...as "ketchup" seems to be the only vegetable many of them will eat!!
Reply:Depends on what ya put on them during growing and eating.
Reply:Once upon a time in a land far, far away.............Well once, tomatoes were considered poisonous, but that was hundreds of years ago, and people have learned otherwise. But since the plant is a member of the nightshade family, all other parts of it are poisonous. Only the fruit is edible, and good for you too.. Here is a link explaining the history of tomatoes and why they were considered inedible. A fun read.


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato
Reply:He's right. The tomato plant is related to the potato plant, both have poisonous leaves and foliage.
Reply:Tomato plants are members of the deadly nightshade family and are poisonous, but the fruit is not. As long as you don't eat a leaf or stem you are fine. Strange how a plant can be deadly, but the fruit is very nutritious. So, yea, your husband is correct.