Nutrients and natural toxic substances in commonly consumed Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) tuber

•First report on nutrients and natural toxic substances in Jerusalem artichoke tuber.•Dietary fiber and fructans are the major components in this plant.•This tuber had low amounts of chemical contaminants, heavy metals, and natural toxic substances.

This study determined nutrients, chemical contaminants, (insecticide residues and heavy metals), and natural toxic substances (nitrate, nitrite, cyanide, oxalate, phytate, and trypsin inhibitor) in tubers of Jerusalem artichokes-Kaentawan in the Thai language-grown in four major provinces in Thailand. They were purchased, prepared, homogenized, and freeze-dried for further analysis using standard methods. All Kaentawan samples contained considerable amounts of fructans and dietary fiber (15.4±0.2 g and 3.2±0.8 g/100 g fresh weight [FW], respectively), as well as potassium and iron (339±61 and 0.32±0.05 mg/100 g FW, respectively). All samples had very low amounts of insecticide residues (37 compounds), cyanide, and trypsin inhibitor, as well as Pb, Cd, nitrate, and nitrite (0.82±0.09, 0.10±0.02, 1.9-17.5, and 0.01-0.24 mg kg−1 FW, respectively), in addition to oxalate and phytate (14±9 and 0.17±0.02 mg/100 g FW, respectively). This study's data can be used for food composition databases and for safety consumption.