Nightshade Vegetables and Inflammation: Can They Help with Arthritis Symptoms?

Not all nightshade plants are safe to eat

Nightshade vegetables are members of the Solanaceae family of flowering plants. Most nightshade plants aren’t edible such as tobacco and the deadly herb, belladonna. 

A handful of nightshade vegetables, however, are edible and well-known staples in our diets, including: 

• tomatoes
• eggplant
• potatoes
• peppers

All nightshade plants contain compounds called alkaloids. One alkaloid found in nightshade vegetables, solanine, may be toxic in large quantities or in a green potato. There’s no evidence solanine is harmful in typical food amounts. And solanine isn’t only found in nightshades—blueberries, huckleberries, and artichokes contain it, too. 

Thanks to anecdotal evidence, nightshade vegetables have earned a bad reputation for causing inflammation in the body. But not everyone with painful joints who eliminates nightshades from their diet experiences pain relief and some evidence suggests that the nutrition content of nightshades may help with arthritis symptoms. 

Keep reading to learn how these vegetables may affect inflammation within the body, their potential health benefits, and more.