Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 26, 2026
Analyzing Beneficial Effects of Nutritional Supplements on Intestinal Epithelial Barrier Functions During Experimental Colitis
Published on: January 5, 2017
Potato glycoalkaloids adversely affect intestinal permeability and aggravate inflammatory bowel disease
Bijal Patel1, Robert Schutte, Peter Sporns
1Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Background:
Disruption of epithelial barrier integrity is important in the initiation and cause of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Glycoalkaloids, solanine (S), and chaconine (C) are naturally present in potatoes, can permeabilize cholesterol-containing membranes, and lead to disruption of epithelial barrier integrity. Frying potatoes concentrates glycoalkaloids. Interestingly, the prevalence of IBD is highest in countries where fried potatoes consumption is highest.
Objective:
To further understand the role of potato glycoalkaloids on intestinal barrier integrity, we examined the effect of varying concentrations of solanine and chaconine on intestinal permeability and function.
Methods:
Solanine (0-50 microM), chaconine (0-20 microM), or a 1:1 mixture (0-20 microM) were exposed to T84 cultured epithelial monolayers for varying periods of time to determine concentration response effect on epithelial permeability. Next, a 1:1 mixture (5 microM) of solanine-to-chaconine (C:S) was exposed to sheets of normal murine small intestine, mounted in Ussing chambers, from control and interleukin-10 gene-deficient mice to determine whether glycoalkaloids affected intestine from mice with a genetic predisposition for IBD greater than controls. Finally, the effects of glycoalkaloids on colonic histologic injury were examined in mice orally fed amounts of glycoalkaloids that would normally be consumed in a human diet.
Results:
Glycoalkaloids embedded and permeabilized the T84 monolayer epithelial membrane bilayer in a concentration-dependent fashion, with C:S > C > S. In vitro Ussing chamber experiments also illustrated a concentration-dependent disruption of intestinal barrier integrity in animals with a genetic predisposition to develop IBD, but not in control animals. Similarly, in vivo oral feeding experiments demonstrated that C:S ingestion, at physiologic concentrations, aggravated histologic colonic injury in mice genetically predisposed to developing IBD.
Conclusion:
Concentrations of glycoalkaloids normally available while eating potatoes can adversely affect the mammalian intestine and can aggravate IBD.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:20Drugs Affecting GI Tract Motility: Adsorbents as Antidiarrheal Agents
Adsorbents...
01:27Inflammatory Bowel Disease I: Ulcerative Colitis
Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, encompasses a group of disorders characterized by chronic inflammation or ulceration of the gastrointestinal tract.
Risk Factors
The exact cause of IBD remains unclear, although it is believed to be due to a mix of genetic, environmental, microbial, and immune factors. Genetic factors are significant in determining susceptibility to IBD, with family history being a critical risk factor. Individuals with a first-degree relative who has IBD are at...
01:25Factors Influencing Drug Absorption: Disease States and Pharmacology
Substances such as alcohol and specific drugs, including antineoplastics, can also negatively impact drug absorption. For instance,...
01:18Dysbiosis of the Gut Microbiota
01:26Inflammatory Bowel Disease I: Introduction
01:20Inflammatory Bowel Disease II: Ulcerative Colitis