Bioactive Compound Content and Cytotoxic Effect on Human Cancer Cells of Fresh and Processed Yellow Tomatoes

Nutritional Quality of Conventional, Organic, and Hydroponic Tomatoes Commercialized in Quito, Ecuador

The consumption of natural foods is increasingly high, and in recent years, consumers have preferred foods from systems with responsible management of natural resources (organic, hydroponic). However, there are still contradictions regarding the nutritional content of products from these different types of crops. Our study aims to compare, for the first time, the content of antioxidants (ascorbic acid, lycopene, total phenolics, essential fatty acids), micronutrients (copper, iron, manganese, zinc), contaminants (cadmium and lead), and free radical scavenging activity between conventional, organic, and hydroponic tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) sold in markets in Quito, Ecuador. Ascorbic acid and lycopene were determined by HPLC/UV-Vis. Total phenolics (Folin-Ciocalteu method) and free-radical scavenging activity (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl method) were determined via UV-Vis spectrophotometry. Lipid profiles were determined as fatty acid methyl esters through a GC-FID. Trace metals were determined using FAAS (micronutrients), and GFAAS (pollutants). No significant differences (p > 0.05) between antioxidant and micronutrient content among the three types of tomatoes were found. Regarding cadmium and lead, the contents were below the Codex Alimentarius threshold limits. Finally, free radical scavenging activity varied slightly (organic > hydroponic > conventional). Although the samples showed certain differences in antioxidant content, none of the tomato types could be considered nutritionally better because of the high variability of the results.

Hidden in Plants-A Review of the Anticancer Potential of the Solanaceae Family in In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

Many of the anticancer agents that are currently in use demonstrate severe side effects and encounter increasing resistance from the target cancer cells. Thus, despite significant advances in cancer therapy in recent decades, there is still a need to discover and develop new, alternative anticancer agents. The plant kingdom contains a range of phytochemicals that play important roles in the prevention and treatment of many diseases. The Solanaceae family is widely used in the treatment of various diseases, including cancer, due to its bioactive ingredient content. The purpose of this literature review is to highlight the antitumour activity of Solanaceae extracts-single isolated compounds and nanoparticles with extracts-and their synergistic effect with chemotherapeutic agents in various in vitro and in vivo cancer models. In addition, the biological properties of many plants of the Solanaceae family have not yet been investigated, which represents a challenge and an opportunity for future anticancer therapy.

Scientometric and Methodological Analysis of the Recent Literature on the Health-Related Effects of Tomato and Tomato Products

The health benefits of tomato, a vegetable consumed daily in human diets, have received great attention in the scientific community, and a great deal of experiments have tested their utility against several diseases. Herein, we present a scientometric analysis of recent works aimed to estimate the biological effects of tomato, focusing on bibliographic metadata, type of testers, target systems, and methods of analysis. A remarkably variable array of strategies was reported, including testers obtained by standard and special tomatoes, and the use of in vitro and in vivo targets, both healthy and diseased. In vitro, 21 normal and 36 cancer human cell lines derived from 13 different organs were used. The highest cytotoxic effects were reported on cancer blood cells. In vivo, more experiments were carried out with murine than with human systems, addressing healthy individuals, as well as stressed and diseased patients. Multivariate analysis showed that publications in journals indexed in the agriculture category were associated with the use of fresh tomatoes; conversely, medicine and pharmacology journals were associated with the use of purified and formulate testers. Studies conducted in the United States of America preferentially adopted in vivo systems and formulates, combined with blood and tissue analysis. Researchers in Italy, China, India, and Great Britain mostly carried out in vitro research using fresh tomatoes. Gene expression and proteomic analyses were associated with China and India. The emerging scenario evidences the somewhat dichotomic approaches of plant geneticists and agronomists and that of cell biologists and medicine researchers. A higher integration between these two scientific communities would be desirable to foster the assessment of the benefits of tomatoes to human health.

Differentiation of tomatoes based on isotopic, elemental and organic markers

In this study, 41 tomato samples were investigated by means of stable isotope ratios (δ¹³C, δ¹⁸O and δ²H), elemental content, phenolic compounds and pesticides in order to classify them, according to growing conditions and geographical origin. Using investigated parameters, stepwise linear discriminant analysis was applied and the differences that occurred between tomato samples grown in greenhouses compared to those grown on field, and also between Romanian and abroad purchased samples were pointed out. It was shown that Ti, Ga, Te, δ²H and δ¹³C content were able to differentiate Romanian tomato samples from foreign samples, whereas Al, Sc, Se, Dy, Pb, δ¹⁸O, 4,4'-DDT could be used as markers for growing regime (open field vs. greenhouse). For the discrimination of different tomato varieties (six cherry samples and fourteen common sorts) grown in greenhouse, phenolic compounds of 20 samples were determined. In this regard, dihydroquercetin, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, rutin, rosmarinic acid, quercetin and naringin were the major phenolic compounds detected in our samples. The phenolic profile showed significant differences between cherry tomato and common tomato. The contents of the chlorogenic acid and rutin were significantly higher in the cherry samples (90.27-243.00 µg/g DW and 160.60-433.99 µg/g DW respectively) as compared to common tomatoes (21.30-88.72 µg/g DW and 24.84-110.99 µg/g DW respectively). The identification of dihydroquercetin is of particular interest, as it had not been reported previously in tomato fruit.

The Optimization of Nitrogen Fertilization Regulates Crop Performance and Quality of Processing Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. Heinz 3402)

In this study, we evaluated the effect of various fertilization regimes on processing tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. Heinz 3402) yield and quality by applying the following treatments: (i) control (C), (ii) conventional fertilizer (21-0-0, N-P-K) (CF), (iii) slow release nitrogen fertilizer 46-0-0 (SR), (iv) conventional fertilizer (21-0-0, N-P-K) + Zeolite (CFZ), and v) composted sheep manure (M). The results of the study showed that the SR and CFZ treatments resulted in the highest fruit yield per hectare compared to the rest of the fertilizer and the control treatments. Fruit firmness was higher for the treatments C, M and SR, while color parameters (chroma and hue angle) were higher for the C and M treatments, respectively. Moreover, the total soluble solids content (TSS; °Brix) was higher when manure (M) was applied. In terms of chemical composition, the total and individual tocopherols and sugars were the highest for the M and C treatments, respectively, whereas the oxalic, malic and total organic acid contents were the highest for the CFZ treatment. Moreover, the tested treatments showed a varied response in different antioxidant assays, although the M treatment exhibited a high antioxidant capacity in most of the assays, except for the β-carotene/linoleate assay. The carotenoid and chlorophyll contents were the highest for the control treatment. The main detected fatty acid was linoleic acid, followed by palmitic, oleic and α-linolenic acid, while the CFZ treatment had the highest content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) due to its high content of linoleic acid. In conclusion, although the application of fertilizers increased yield, the quality parameters and chemical composition showed a varied response to the fertilization regime, especially the TSS content and juice pH and electric conductivity (EC), which are significant for the marketability of the final product.

Study of commercial quality parameters, sugars, phenolics, carotenoids and plastids in different tomato varieties

The aim of this study was to assess commercial quality parameters, sugars, phenolics, carotenoids and plastid in diverse and little studied tomato varieties to gain insight into their commercial and functional quality and reveal possible noticeable differences. Five cherry tomato varieties and six common (i.e., non-cherry) tomatoes were evaluated. The highest levels of lycopene were detected in 'Tigerella' and 'Byelsa', and those of phytoene in 'Orange', those of phenolics in 'Green Zebra', all of them common tomatoes. The levels of sugars in both groups of tomatoes were comparable. Interesting differences in plastid carotenoid-accumulating sub-structures as a function of the carotenoid profile were observed. Given the importance of chromoplasts in the deposition of carotenoids in plants and their release during digestion, this information can be valuable in investigations on the regulation of the biosynthesis and the bioavailability of tomato carotenoids.

Protective Effects of Sweet Orange, Unshiu Mikan, and Mini Tomato Juice Powders on t-BHP-Induced Oxidative Stress in HepG2 Cells

The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of juice powders from sweet orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck], unshiu mikan (Citrus unshiu Marcow), and mini tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), and their major flavonoids, hesperidin, narirutin, and rutin in tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP)-induced oxidative stress in HepG2 cells. The increased reactive oxygen species and decreased glutathione levels observed in t-BHP-treated HepG2 cells were ameliorated by pretreatment with juice powders, indicating that the hepatoprotective effects of juice powders and their major flavonoids are mediated by induction of cellular defense against oxidative stress. Moreover, pretreatment with juice powders up-regulated phase-II genes such as heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), thereby preventing cellular damage and the resultant increase in HO-1 expression. The high-performance liquid chromatography profiles of the juice powders confirmed that hesperidin, narirutin, and rutin were the key flavonoids present. Our results suggest that these fruit juice powders and their major flavonoids provide a significant cytoprotective effect against oxidative stress, which is most likely due to the flavonoid-related bioactive compounds present, leading to the normal redox status of cells. Therefore, these fruit juice powders could be advantageous as bioactive sources for the prevention of oxidative injury in hepatoma cells.