Aubergine

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Blood pressure and mood³

  In people with raised blood pressure, taking aubergine powder daily lowered blood pressure and improved mood.

Animal and lab studies only

• Benefit

  Gut bacteria and cooking⁷

  In lab studies, fried aubergine fed gut bacteria better than grilled or raw, boosting helpful types.

• Benefit

  Blood sugar control⁸

  Eggplant may help control blood sugar by slowing how much sugar the body absorbs.

Study type not stated

• Benefit

  Vegetable nutrition and health⁶

  Eggplant gives vitamins, phenolics and antioxidants, and has long been used in traditional medicine, though scientists are still studying its health effects.

Found in some samples or products

These come from where it was grown, how it was processed or cooked, or what it was made into. They are not about the ingredient itself, so the signal does not count them.

• Health risk from contaminated crops²

  Eggplant grown with wastewater can hold metals like lead and cadmium, and eaters in some countries may take in too much.

• Food poisoning from jarred vegetables⁵

  In Italy, seven people got type B botulism after eating commercially prepared roasted eggplant in oil.

• Contaminated soil health risk⁹

  Eggplants grown in polluted soil took up lead, cadmium and other heavy metals in their edible fruit.

Single cases of misuse or overdose

One person or one incident, such as an accidental overdose or a mistake in a kitchen or factory. They are real, but a single case does not show what happens at normal amounts, so the signal does not count them.

• Severe food allergy⁴

  A man collapsed minutes after eating baked aubergine, and doctors confirmed aubergine allergy with skin tests.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.