ISHS Acta Horticulturae 823: XI International Symposium on the Processing Tomato
HEALTH PROMOTING FOODS: RESEARCHING THE PROCESSED TOMATO |
| Author: | B. Burton-Freeman |
| Abstract:
Less then 20% of the published human studies literature on processed tomatoes focuses on heart disease outcomes. Of this work, most target oxidative stress endpoints, as tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, a documented powerful anti-oxidant compound. In addition to lycopene however; tomatoes contain a number of bioactive essential and non-essential compounds. Therefore, the action of tomatoes when consumed regularly may provide a much broader scope of health promoting properties. We hypothesize that the complex mixture of bioactive compounds in tomato will provide anti-thrombotic protection as well as improve vascular relaxation responses, in addition to anti-oxidant activity in overweight men and women. The study approach utilizes an acute- and chronic- phase study paradigm to compare changes in fasting and postprandial clinical endpoints after single- and long-term exposure of processed tomato products vs. non-tomato products. Sixty men and women recruited at 2 research sites in the U.S. will be randomized, after 3 weeks run-in, to 1 of 2 treatment arms for 6 weeks consuming either processed tomato products daily or non-tomato products matched for energy, sodium and sugar content. During run-in and at the end of the 6 weeks treatment, a subset of subjects will also participate in a 6 h postprandial study with defined test meals and intervals for blood sampling and flow-medicated dilation (FMD) assessment. Clinical efficacy will be evaluated on platelet aggregation, FMD, and select metabolic-, oxidative- and inflammatory- stress biomarkers. | |
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