Common Name: Big Eggplant

General Information

Solanum erianthum is an unarmed shrub or small tree usually growing up to 4 metres tall, with occasional specimens to 10 metres[, ]. The stem is up to 20 cm in diameter[].
The plant is cultivated in some areas for its fruits, which are used in curries[].

Known Hazards

The leaves, stems and roots contain various alkaloids and are poisonous.
Although providing many well-known foods for people, including the potato, tomato, pepper and aubergine, most species in this genus also contain toxic alkaloids. Whilst these alkaloids can make the plant useful in treaing a range of medical conditions, they can also cause problems such as nausea, vomiting, salivation, drowsiness, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, weakness and respiratory depression[].
Unless there are specific entries with information on edible uses, it would be unwise to ingest any part of this plant[].

Botanical References

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Range

S. America - Colombia, north through Central America to southern N. America and the Caribbean. Naturalized in southeast Asia to Australia.

Habitat

Scattered in sunny or slightly shaded places, in brushwood, roadsides, field edges, on waste ground and forest edges[]. Moist or dry thickets, fields or along river banks, often in second growth, at elevations from near sea level to 2,000 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Shrub
Height	4.00 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Found at elevations from 300 - 2,100 metres in the tropics of Asia[].

Edible Uses

The fruits can be eaten when cooked[]. Used in curries[]. Although the fruits are considered poisonous by some people, being said to cause nausea, headache and cramps, in South-East Asia they are sometimes eaten when cooked, and are prepared as a curry in southern India[]. The globose fruit is 8 - 12 mm in diameter, dull yellow when ripe[].

Medicinal

The leaves are considered abortifacient and diuretic[]. They are considered a potent medicine for expelling all impurities through the urine, and in particular to treat leucorrhoea[]. A decoction of the leaves is drunk as a treatment against vertigo[].
Applied externally, the pounded leaves are used as a poultice to treat haemorrhoids and scrofula. It is better to apply the poultice overnight[, ]. A plaster made of concentrated fresh leaf juice cures dermatomycosis and impetigo[]. Heated leaves are applied as a cream to the forehead as a treatment against headache[].
The leaf juice is used as a rinse for sores in the mouth[].

A decoction from the roots is applied to treat violent pains all over the body or to relieve digestive troubles; it is also given to treat dysentery, diarrhoea and fever[].
The root bark is poisonous and can be used as an antiphlogistic and against arthritis[, ].

In Papua New Guinea, the plant is used internally to treat stomach-ache[].
The plant is applied externally to treat skin irritations and rashes[]. An infusion of the plant is used for a bath after childbirth[].

The plant contains steroidal saponins and free genins as well as steroidal alkaloids of the spirosolane group. The spirosolanes are structurally similar to saponins of the diosgenin type. Important spirosolane alkaloids include solasodine and tomatidine, which are both found in Solanum erianthum. The total alkaloid content of air dry leaves and fruits is about 0.4%. The solasodine content in fruits from Indian samples was 0.01 - 0.70%. Leaf samples from Vietnam contained 0.26% solasodine and 0.05% tomatidine[].
Steroidal alkaloids such as tomatine, solanine and chaconine inhibit growth and development of a large number of fungi[].
A flavonoid-rich extract of the leaves of Solanum erianthum possesses antibacterial and antifungal activity against gram-positive bacteria and the fungi Aspergillus flavus and Candida albicans[].
Steroidal alkaloids from Solanum erianthum are useful in industry as steroid precursors. Solasodine is a nitrogen-containing analogue of diosgenin, a compound often used as raw material for the production of medicinal steroids[]. The synthetic steroids have three main applications in medicine: as anti-inflammatory corticosteroids, as contraceptive steroids and as anabolic steroids[].

Agroforestry Uses:

Considered to be suitable for use as a shade plant for coffee[].

Other Uses

The velvety leaves are used to remove grease from dishes[].

Propagation

Seed - sow in trays in a nursery. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on fast. Plant them out when 10cm or more tall.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood. Very easy, the cuttings root within a couple of weeks.

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