Solanum scabrum—a potential source of a coloring plant extract

The objective of this study was to examine the potential of Solanum scabrum to provide a colorant for food. We conducted a field trial with eight accessions from four different sources and recorded both morphological variability and fruit yield differences between accessions. Further, anthocyanin and glucoalkaloid concentrations were determined. The accessions could be assigned to two distinct groups: a leafy vegetable type with toxic fruits used in Africa and a berry type with edible fruits known as Garden Huckleberry in North America, but both types had edible leaves with low glucoalkaloid concentrations. The leafy vegetable type set not much fruit. In contrast, the berry type yielded on average 800–900 g berries per plant with remarkable high anthocyanin concentrations of 8.1–13.9 g kg1 fresh weight, calculated as petunidin 3-p-(coumaryl-runtinoside)-5-glucoside. Thus, S. scabrum can serve as a source for natural anthocyanin pigments. In particular, two accessions with a high fruit yield were promising candidates as a berry crop. One had the best anthocyanin concentration of the examined material and the other one had a low percentage of unripe berries as a further advantage.