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gtarman

Which chilli leaves are edible?

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So I recently had my mind blown to find out that chilli leaves are edible, or at least some species are, depending on who you ask. Apparently they're used a fair bit as a stir-fry/other random cooked green and have a pretty good taste to them. And to think I've been wasting most of the plant this whole time and only using the fruit :BANGHEAD2:

The problem is I'm not sure what species are edible or what kind of preparation they need to be safe (if any). Wikipedia says that all Capsicum species have edible leaves. But other online sources say that Capsicum anuum has toxic/inedible leaves, and that you should be wary of all chilli species leaves unless you absolutely know that particular species is safe.

So I'm wondering if anybody here has any knowledge or experience to share here regarding what's safe to eat and what isn't (and for bonus points: why :lol:)

Cheers

Gman

Edited by gtarman
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Pretty sure the capsaicin type compounds are the toxins, I have been eating the leaves off lots of different chilli plants for years because I just throw different types of basil which have the same looking leaves when young, I never got any ill effects. I ate 2 of the tiny (smallest I've seen) chili's at Sydney botanical gardens mark 'Unknown', they didn't burn my mouth but 15 min later my blood pressure dropped, I couldn't stand up, had streams of sweat pouring off me & felt like I was going to die.

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^ you sure they were chilli's and not another kind of Solanaceae? I'm pretty sure capsaicin couldn't cause a reaction of that magnitude without burning your mouth at least a little. Some of the other nightshades though could most likely do such a thing. Unless it was capsaicin and you just swallowed the things without really chewing?

And yeah I'm not quite sure re:toxins. It doesn't help that generally the sources listing a plant as toxic never give you the bloody name of the toxin. And their definition of toxin is often different to what I would call a toxin :BANGHEAD2:

Although with the nightshade family I think caution is probably a good idea. Hence thread lol

EDIT: I also am doubtful of capsaicin being the alleged toxin in the leaves, because apparently the leaves lack heat/pungency.

Edited by gtarman

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I had no idea. How cool!

I will be watching this thread to find out which chilli seeds to hoard for next season.

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Okay so a bit of digging has turned up the following:

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?s=1d57425070ad6439c6fa3937e706e0e7&p=2513803&postcount=4 - info relayed second-hand from a book called "Edible Leaves of The Tropics", seems to be saying that C. annuum and C. frutescens can be eaten...

http://www.sacredearth.com/ethnobotany/plantprofiles/chillies.php - lists the leaves and fruit of C. anuum as having medicinal uses?

Among other things, PFAF says of Capsicum annuum: "Young leaves are said to be edible[105] but some caution is advised." They also warn: "Although no reports have been seen for this species, many plants in this family produce toxins in their leaves. The sap of the plant can cause the skin to blister[200]. Avoid in patients taking monoamine oxidase inhibitor antidepressants and antihypertensive drugs [301]." And they also list leaves and flowers under 'edible parts' of the plant.

They also list the cooked leaves of C. frutescens as an 'edible part', but not the flowers. Their listings for C. pubescens and C. baccatum respectively, do not list the leaves as edible parts...although they seem to have a similar warning as the one above for each stating that no specific reports of toxicity are known to them. But I'm guess reports of leaf edibility are also unknown to them for those species, hence not being listed as edible.

I have found a fair few reports of various (often unspecified) chilli leaves being eaten with no apparent ill effects. Although I'm also finding lots of people saying that you should be wary and that they may be toxic in some way. Some conjecture I've read seems to say that maybe if you eat too much of it then you could possibly build up a dangerous level of unspecified bad-stuff (actually, one guy did make a guess towards solanine I believe).

I might write more later but I need food and a nap right now quite badly. Brain no work-y any longer.

Edited by gtarman
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It was a chilli plant, I can't remember its origin, somewhere like pacific islands, it was labelled Capsicum sp. (Unknown), the chilli's were so small & I have a decent tolerance to chilli's that I might have just swallowed them before I could feel the heat.

I just ate one of my Butch T chilli leaves and they have a little heat in them, warming the stomach more than the mouth.

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Cool thread gtarman. I got briefly interested in this when my Thai recipe book told me that chilli leaves (unspecified) used to be used as the "green" part in old green curry paste recipes. I got all excited, extra goodness from my chilli plants and all, then actually tasted a few leaves - really nothing to get excited about, so I dropped it. Nice to see some evidence that I probably wasn't poisoned.

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Cheers. Yeah I think they're supposed to be good cooked, maybe with a bit of sesame oil and stuff.

After asking a member with a boatload more chemistry knowledge than me via PM the following advice was tendered:

I did a quick search and I think they are likely edible- everything is poisonous in a large enough quantity and everything has side effects, somethings we use for their side effects. So I'd say go for it, just don't eat too much and if you feel weird stop eating it.

When one considers the side effects of the actual chilli: burning, blisters, nausea, sweating, dizziness, vomiting and diarrhea, I think its safe to say the leaves are likely to have less of an effect. There are quite a few recipes out there that use them.

So I'm gonna start having a chew on the leaves of my C. annuum and C. chinense (it might actually be a mislabeled baccatum) once my current batch of seedlings is old enough to spare them. Will report back but can't see myself having any issues - for all the warnings and cautions I haven't encountered a single case of poisoning yet.

I'll report back.

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Chili leaves contain traces of nicotine and other alkaloids. Edible as stewing herbs in small amounts, but probably not a good idea to chew directly.

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Cheers T. Looks like you're right...after doing a new search but with nicotine as the keyword it seems to have brought up what I was looking for...

PEPPERS AND CAPSICUMS
- Peppers and capsicums were rare in the Western diet until the 1980s, when they became widely available as fresh vegetables and, in their hotter forms, in Asian cuisine and as hot sauce. Chillis replaced peppercorns in Indian cuisine from the 1650s onwards, after Portuguese traders brought plants and seeds from Brazil. Hot peppers are rich in capsaicin, which creates a burning sensation that affects pain receptor cells and causes them to release endorphins, the body’s natural opiate-like painkillers, that create a temporary feeling of euphoria. Peppers and capsicums also contain solanine and solanadine, the nicotine compounds that are unique to nightshade plants.

I guess all nightshades have these sorts of compounds in varying amounts, but I suspect you're right and that it's best not to overdo it.

Edited by gtarman

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