Tomato

• Common Name: Tomato
• Latin Name: Solanum lycopersicon; syn. Lycopersicon esculentum
• Family Name: Solanaceae

There is some disagreement over the toxic principle in tomatoes:  some say it is the alkaloid tomatine, while others disagree and say it is the glycoalkaloid solamine.  Despite this disagreement the tomato does come from the same family as potatoes and deadly nightshade, and the leaves and unripe fruit are TOXIC and should never be fed.  The ripe fruit has a high sugar content, low level of calcium and high phosphorus content with almost no fibre, so it is not nourishing and we do not recommend feeding it.