Original title: Golden biomass: unlocking the potential of neglected potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) side-streams as sources of bioactive compounds
Potato flowers and berries are often left unused, so researchers tested whether they contain useful natural chemicals. They measured these chemicals and tracked how they changed as berries developed. Flowers usually had more concentrated glycoalkaloidsNatural chemicals in potatoes; this study measured two of them, α-solanine and α-chaconine., while berries produced more plant material overall. Picking flowers early did not lower potato yield, but picking berries lowered yield for one cultivar in one trial.
Imagine picking herbs from a garden to use in a meal. A small handful can have a strong taste, while a bigger pile may be easier to gather but less intense. In this paper, flowers are the concentrated handful of useful plant chemicals, while berries offer more material to collect; the researchers also checked whether picking them early affected the potato crop.
Potato growers leave flowers and berries largely unused, but these side-streams contain compounds that may be useful in medicines or plant protection. Flowers offer more concentrated glycoalkaloids, while berries provide more biomass; harvesting flowers early did not reduce tuber yield in the field trials.
The abstract reports field trials with two cultivars and says berry harvest reduced yield for one cultivar in one field experiment. It does not establish how well these compounds can be recovered or used in products, or whether the findings apply across other cultivars, locations, and growing conditions.
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Golden biomass: unlocking the potential of neglected potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) side-streams as sources of bioactive compounds — Marília Bueno da Silva, Björn Thiele, Björn Usadel et al. — Frontiers in Plant Science — doi:10.3389/fpls.2026.1957940
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.