Can unripe green tomatoes be eaten?

Green-skinned tomatoes should not be eaten, as they contain a substance called solanine—a highly toxic alkaloid. Consuming green-skinned tomatoes can lead to poisoning, causing mild symptoms such as bitterness in the mouth, and in severe cases, may even endanger life.

Tomatoes are a common fruit and vegetable, known for their sweet-and-sour taste and rich nutrition, with certain medicinal value. Fully ripe tomatoes have a red exterior, while unripe ones have green skin. Green-skinned tomatoes are unsafe to eat because they contain solanine, a toxic alkaloid that appears as needle-shaped crystals and is strongly poisonous.

Solanine in green-skinned tomatoes is highly toxic to the human body. Once ingested, it can cause hemolytic effects, strongly irritate and somewhat corrode the stomach, and paralyze the central nervous system, leading to bodily harm. Eating green-skinned tomatoes may result in poisoning symptoms such as oral bitterness, weakness, vomiting, and diarrhea; in serious cases, it can threaten life.