Solanum xanthocarpum Seeds | Yellow-fruit Nightshade
LATIN NAME: Solanum xanthocarpum
COMMON NAME: Yellow-Fruit Nightshade
Plant Profile
Solanum xanthocarpum is a prickly, sprawling herb of the dry plains of India, and it is grown for medicine rather than for food. The stems and leaves carry straight yellow prickles, the flowers are blue-purple with a yellow centre, and the fruit is a round berry, green striped with white and ripening to yellow. It reaches about a metre, often lying on the ground.
The species grows on waste ground, along roads and in overgrazed pasture across the Indian subcontinent, and it is one of the plants known in Ayurveda as kantakari. It is a close relative of the tomato and of the brinjal, and it shares their prickly, hairy habit and their preference for heat.
Science & Biotechnology
The plant contains solasodine, a steroidal alkaloid used as a starting material for the synthesis of steroid hormones, and it is one of the species exploited for that purpose. The berry and the leaf also contain solanine-type alkaloids, which are toxic, and the plant is not eaten. The prickles are a defence against grazing, and the hairy leaf reduces water loss.
Solasodine is the reason the plant has attracted interest beyond medicine: it can be converted to pregnenolone and to other steroids, and plantations of Solanum species were established in India and in Australia for that market. The alkaloid content varies with the plant and with the season, which is a problem for industrial use. The prickles are strong enough to puncture a tyre, which is why the plant is cleared from tracks.
Uses & Benefits
In Ayurveda the whole plant is used for cough, for asthma and for chest pain, usually in a decoction with honey and with other herbs, and the fruit is used as a diuretic. The root is used for toothache and the leaf for skin complaints.
The plant is also used as a green manure and as a trap crop for nematodes, and the prickly stems are used as a boundary against animals. It is not a food plant, and the berry should not be eaten, since the alkaloids can cause vomiting and drowsiness. The plant is also burned to repel mosquitoes, and the ash is used on wounds in some districts.
Growing from Seed
Seed germinates readily. Sow it at 20 to 25 degrees in spring, and seedlings appear in two to three weeks. The plant is fast and can flower within two months of sowing.
The plant wants full sun, heat and a well-drained soil, and it tolerates drought and poor ground. It is tender below about five degrees. It is prickly, so plant it away from a path, and wear gloves when handling it. It self-sows freely and can become a weed in a warm garden. Where the season is short, start the seed indoors in March and plant out in June.
Our Take
A prickly medicinal nightshade with a place in Ayurveda and in the steroid industry, and one to keep out of the vegetable patch.
Related Reading
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