This post will provide information on "What are the health benefits of eggplant or garden egg (Solanum melongena)?" as well as provide answers to questions like: What is the real name of garden egg? Is eggplant and garden egg the same? Can garden eggs be eaten raw? Is Garden egg a nightshade? What is the name of this fruit 🍆? What are white eggplants? Is there a difference between white eggplant and purple eggplant? Where does eggplant come from originally? Why eggplant is bad for you? What are the benefits of eating eggplant? Why is eggplant A Superfood? What is the healthiest way to eat eggplant?
Eggplant (US, Australia, New Zealand, anglophone Canada), aubergine (UK, Ireland, Quebec, and most of mainland Western Europe) or brinjal (South Asia, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa)[4][5] is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Solanum melongena is grown worldwide for its edible fruit. Most commonly purple, the spongy, absorbent fruit is used in several cuisines. Typically used as a vegetable in cooking, it is a berry by botanical definition. As a member of the genus Solanum, it is related to the tomato, chili pepper, and potato, although those are of the New World where the eggplant, like nightshade, is Old World. Like the tomato, its skin and seeds can be eaten, but, like the potato, it is usually eaten cooked. Eggplant is nutritionally low in macronutrient and micronutrient content, but the capability of the fruit to absorb oils and flavors into its flesh through cooking expands its use in the culinary arts. It was originally domesticated from the wild nightshade species thorn or bitter apple, S. incanum, probably with two independent domestications: one in South Asia, and one in East Asia. In 2018, China and India combined accounted for 87% of the world production of eggplants. There is no consensus about the place of origin of eggplant; the plant species has been described as native to India, where it continues to grow wild, Africa, or South Asia. It has been cultivated in southern and eastern Asia since prehistory. The first known written record of the plant is found in Qimin Yaoshu, an ancient Chinese agricultural treatise completed in 544 C.E. The numerous Arabic and North African names for it, along with the lack of the ancient Greek and Roman names, indicate it was grown throughout the Mediterranean area by the Arabs in the early Middle Ages, who introduced it to Spain in the 8th century. A book on agriculture by Ibn Al-Awwam in 12th-century Arabic Spain described how to grow aubergines.
The eggplant is a delicate, tropical perennial plant often cultivated as a tender or half-hardy annual in temperate climates. The stem is often spiny. The flowers are white to purple in color, with a five-lobed corolla and yellow stamens. Some common cultivars have fruit that is egg-shaped, glossy, and purple with white flesh and a spongy, "meaty" texture. Some other cultivars are white and longer in shape. The cut surface of the flesh rapidly turns brown when the fruit is cut open (oxidation). Eggplant grows 40 to 150 cm (1 ft 4 in to 4 ft 11 in) tall, with large, coarsely lobed leaves that are 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 in) long and 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 in) broad. Semiwild types can grow much larger, to 225 cm (7 ft 5 in), with large leaves over 30 cm (12 in) long and 15 cm (6 in) broad. On wild plants, the fruit is less than 3 cm (1+1/4 in) in diameter; in cultivated forms: 30 cm (12 in) or more in length are possible for long, narrow types or the large fat purple ones common to the West.
Rich in many nutrients
High in antioxidants
May reduce the risk of heart disease
May promote blood sugar control
Could help with weight loss
May have cancer-fighting benefits
Very easy to add to your diet
Eggplants are part of the nightshade family. Nightshades contain alkaloids, including solanine, which can be toxic. Solanine protects these plants while they are still developing. Eating the leaves or tubers of these plants can lead to symptoms such as burning in the throat, nausea and vomiting, and heart arrhythmias.