Solanum nigrum - edible strain
The ripe berries and cooked leaves of this edible strain of black nightshade are used as food in Tamil Nadu.
The thoroughly boiled leaves are used like spinach. The ripe black berries are described as sweet and salty, with hints of liquorice and melon.
It is nutritious containing high levels of Vitamin C, as well as niacin, riboflavin, calcium, phosphorus, and iron. It is also used in herbal medicine, the leaves and berries can be eaten as a treatment for ulcers.
The leaves are also eaten in Greece, and Turkey and Indonesia, and the berries are turned into jam in South Africa.
Related to Peppers,Tomatoes and Eggplant, in Kannada it is known as kakki soppu, in Telugu Kamanchi chettu and in Hindi it is called Makoi.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has noted the potential of a compound (Uttroside-B) isolated from the plant to treat liver cancer, thanks to the findings of a team of scientists at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB). The compound is also found to be effective in treating fatty liver.
 "Black Nightshade - Manathakkali")
