Acetylcholine content in 100 accessions from the worldwide eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) core collection

Acetylcholine (ACh) is a functional compound in eggplants (Solanum melongena L.), which could alleviate hypertension and a negative psychological state at an oral dose of 2.3 mg. It exhibits antihypertensive effects by suppressing sympathetic nervous activity without absorption in the body. However, information on the characteristics of eggplants with high ACh content remains scant. Here, we investigated 100 eggplant accessions from the core collection developed at the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization for two consecutive years. Eggplant samples were selected according to their origin, shape, and peel color; completely ripened fruits were used to analyze the characteristics of eggplants with high ACh content. The core collection contains high levels of ACh (range: 7.71-53.1 mg/100 g fresh weight [FW]), indicating ACh as a common functional compound in eggplants. The green spherical eggplant accession WEC040, native to Laos, showed the highest ACh content (two-year average: 53.1 mg/100 g FW). Asian origin, spherical fruit shape, and green-colored peel were characteristics of eggplant cultivars with high ACh content. The growing environment is likely an important factor influencing the ACh content in eggplant. These results are expected to be useful for the development of ACh-rich eggplant accessions.

Automated summary

Acetylcholine in eggplants has the potential to alleviate hypertension and negative psychological state by suppressing sympathetic nervous activity. Information about eggplants with high acetylcholine content is limited. In this study, we investigated 100 eggplant accessions and found that they commonly contain high levels of acetylcholine, with the green spherical eggplant from Laos having the highest content.