Ashley Moran wrote:
> On Mar 01, 2007, at 1:21 pm, Todd Moody wrote:
>
>> Um, no.  It's not the chemicals added to the tobacco; it's the 
>> tobacco.  When tobacco is prepared for smoking or chewing, it is 
>> first aged and dried, so in that form it is much more concentrated.  
>> But the raw stuff will still make you sick.  Like potatoes, tobacco 
>> is a member of the Solanaceae (nightshade) family.  Nicotine is an 
>> alkalloid poison that is lethal to humans and other animals in 
>> sufficient quantities, and it is present in the raw plant.
>
> Raw tomatoes always make me feel strange.  Maybe I imagine it though.  
> I can eat cooked tomatoes fine.  (I don't dislike raw tomato but I 
> could happily never eat it again).
>
> Also, are peppers a good food?  I love ripe peppers and I can't 
> imagine them being poisonous or making anyone ill.  What I don't know 
> is why some contain huge amounts of capsaicin but others are really 
> sweet.  Were they bred this way separately?

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=62

As Mark pointed out, the nightshades have been selectively bred for low 
solanin content.  But they still contain this toxin.  I was surprised to 
learn that peppers have as much of it as they do.

Todd Moody
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