# Tortoise ate a tomato leaf (toxic?)?



## rosaceae (Dec 20, 2014)

I plant tomato and a leaf fell into my tank. My tortoise nibbled on it before I found out. I heard that tomato leaf contain toxic materials. Is that true and what should I do to help my tortoises?


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## jaizei (Dec 20, 2014)

It'll probably be fine.


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## rosaceae (Dec 20, 2014)

thanks for your reply! there are two tortoises. red eared sliders. the leaf appeared to be nibbled and torn but not eaten largely. they are quite active now although one appears to be sleepy.


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## Moozillion (Dec 20, 2014)

I don't think a bite or two would be dangerous. I've read that many toxic plants have a bitter or bad taste, so it may not have been very appealing.


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## Peytons torts (Dec 20, 2014)

A red eared slider is a turtle not a tortoise they should be fine though


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## N2TORTS (Dec 20, 2014)

Tomato leaves contain toxic compounds called alkaloids.
All vegetables contain alkaloids. Alkaloids are part of a plant’s defense mechanisms (existing in all parts of the plant to protect against certain animals, insects, fungi, viruses, and bacteria) and we consume them on a daily basis in various amounts.
The major glycoalkaloid in the tomato plant is tomatine. (To put it simply, a glycoalkaloid is an alkaloid bonded with a sugar.)
A study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that the highest concentrations of tomatine were found in senescent leaves, followed by the stems, fresh leaves, calyxes, green fruits, and finally, roots (which had the lowest concentrations).
Glycoalkaloids are also poorly absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract of mammals, and will pass through quickly to the urine or feces. In people who are sensitive to these compounds, stomach irritation may occur but they would have to ingest an unrealistic amount of green tomatoes or tomato leaves to experience ill effects.
So what’s the deal? Are tomato leaves toxic or not? According to this food safety study (which compared the potential toxicity of glycoalkaloids found in tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants), tomatine is a relatively benign glycoalkaloid. It resulted in no significant changes to liver weight or body weight when fed to mice, and is not considered adverse to human health.
What’s most surprising is the discovery of tomatine as a cancer inhibitor. The glycoalkaloid has been found to effectively kill or suppress the growth of human breast, colon, liver, and stomach cancer cells. This study suggests that consumers could benefit from eating high-tomatine green tomatoes, and that there may be a “need” to develop high-tomatine red tomatoes as well (for the treatment of cancer and/or the study of tomatine as an anti-carcinogenic and anti-viral agent).

Read more at http://www.gardenbetty.com/2013/08/tomato-leaves-the-toxic-myth/#XKBioUEbgPGyvMIO.99


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