The steroidal glycoalkaloids solamargine and solasonine in Solanum plants

Glycoalkaloids are a class of nitrogen-containing steroidal glycosides, they are biologically active secondary metabolites and are commonly found in plants of the genus Solanum. These compounds have been the subject of many literature papers, they occur widely in the human diet including potato (Solanum tuberosum), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and aubergine (Solanum melongena) and are known to induce toxicity. Therefore, from the food safety and biological activity perspectives further information is required regarding their analysis, toxicity and bioavailability. A comprehensive review of different analytical methods of quantification of two glycoalkaloids solamargine and solasonine and their bioactivity particularly focused on toxicity, anticancer activity and mechanisms of action is presented in this paper.