New food from a potato somatic hybrid: nutritional equivalence and safety assessment by a feeding study on rats

• Published in: Journal of the science of food and agriculture 2015-07, Vol.95 (9), p.1911-1917
• Main Authors: Nouri-Ellouz, Oumèma, Zeghal, Najiba, Makni, Saloua, Makni-Ayadi, Fatma, Trigui, Mouhanad, Ellouz-Ghorbel, Raoudha, Drira, Noureddine, Sellami-Boudawara, Tahya, Gargouri-Bouzid, Radhia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Assessments; composition; Consumption; Digestion; Drying; Energy Intake; Feeding; Food Quality; Food safety; Food, Genetically Modified - adverse effects; Foods; Fungi; Fungi - immunology; Hybridization, Genetic; Kidney - growth & development; Liver - growth & development; Male; Nutrition; Nutritive Value; Pancreas - growth & development; Plant diseases; Plant Immunity; Plant resistance; Plant Tubers - adverse effects; Plant Tubers - chemistry; Plant Tubers - genetics; Plant Tubers - immunology; Plants, Genetically Modified - adverse effects; Plants, Genetically Modified - chemistry; Plants, Genetically Modified - genetics; Plants, Genetically Modified - immunology; potato; Potatoes; Potyvirus - immunology; Random Allocation; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Safety; Salinity; Salt-Tolerance; Solanum tuberosum - adverse effects; Solanum tuberosum - chemistry; Solanum tuberosum - genetics; Solanum tuberosum - immunology; somatic hybrid; Spleen - growth & development; Starches; Weight Gain
• ISSN: 0022-5142; 1097-0010
• DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.6898

BACKGROUND Potato tubers from the STBd somatic hybrid line that exhibited improved tolerance to salinity and resistance to fungal and PVY infections were characterised. They were compared for their chemical composition to the Spunta variety produced by conventional agronomic practices. This study aimed to compare nutritional value and safety by feeding rats with STBd or commercial tubers added to the standard diet (20/80 w/w). RESULTS The analysis of soluble sugar, fat, fibre and ash content of tubers did not reveal any significant differences between the hybrid line and the control Spunta variety. Small differences were observed in dry matter, starch and protein content of hybrid potatoes in comparison to controls. However, all values were within normal ranges reported in the literature. The feeding study on rats showed that overall health, weight gain, food consumption, morphological aspects and weights of organs were comparable between rat groups fed the STBd hybrid and the Spunta variety. CONCLUSION Taken together, 28 days of consumption of STBd hybrid potato did not exert any adverse effect on rats compared with commercial Spunta potato. The STBd potato line was therefore considered to be as safe for food utilisation as the commercial variety. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry