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A Triumph for Tomatoes
TOMATO
SLICES www.ars.usda.gov
Photographer:
Scott Bauer Lately there has been a lot of noise in the news, often backed by
inconclusive negative research, about the validity of taking various supplements
for health. However, twice in one week, the erstwhile ‘Love Apple’ (Fr. Pomme
d’amour) has been shown to offer positive cancer treatment benefits – a
triumph for tomatoes! A Little Bite of Tomato History: We often think of tomatoes as fruits, but in America over a century ago,
where tomatoes follow potatoes and lettuce as the third most widely consumed
vegetable, in 1893 the United States Supreme Court ruled that the tomato is a
“vegetable”.1&2 In England they are still generally
considered to be a “fruit” used as a vegetable, because biologically
speaking the tomato is really one ginormous berry. The tomato is one of the few plant foods that are native to the western
hemisphere. They are said to have originated in the Peruvian coastal highlands
of western South America and cultivated by Indians in the Andes Mountains since
prehistoric times.2 Tomatoes were known to be used as food by Aztec
Indians. They later emerged in Central America and moved from South America to
Mexico more than 3,000 years ago, with the advent of settlers. Tomatoes made
their way to Europe in the 16th century after the conquest of Mexico
in 1519. As a member of the Solanaceae
family, of which potatoes (Solanum
tuberosum), aubergines (Solanum
melongena) and deadly nightshade (Atropa
belladonna) are also relatives, tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum - “juicy wolf peach”) were at first
believed by their new European proprietors to be poisonous. They were saved for
our delectation by both Spaniards and Italians and first said to be grown in
Italy in 1550, although the earliest reference traced to the Italian tomato,
called pomi d’oro or ‘golden
apple’ appeared in an herbal written by Matthiolus in 1544: (Tomatoes are)
“eaten in Italy with oil, salt and pepper”.3 This reference
argues for the first tomatoes imported into Italy to have been yellow, which
variety have recently re-gained popularity in the UK. The red tomato does not
appear to have been introduced to Italy until some time later by two members of
the Catholic clergy. However, by
1623 red, yellow, orange and golden or yellow tomatoes were to be found around
the Mediterranean. The tomato’s culinary capability was first made public in a cookbook
published in Naples in 1692.1 It was nearly a century later before
timidity on the part of the English advanced the use of the tomato to a
flavouring for soups; the warming comfort of the now much-loved common ‘tomato
soup’ was yet a long way off. Today, tomatoes feature strongly in the well-known healthy Mediterranean
diet and in cultivation and *recipes worldwide. In Britain it is almost de
rigueur that any gardener will put in a few tomato plants in the greenhouse
or grow hardier varieties outside in the garden for summer salads. The tomato is
now cultivated and flourishing as a crop throughout the world. Tomato Power to the People: In the 1980’s biotechnology sought to genetically modify our beloved
tomato by tweaking their genetics to inactivate the gene responsible for
softening the tomato during it’s ripening – a contra-shelf life
characteristic. The cultivar genetically modified by Calgene Fresh, Inc. was
named Flavr Savr and distributed to stores in the US in 1993. The public made clear their feelings about this Biotech bastardization of
Nature being put into the human food chain without their permission and
expressed their concerns volubly by protest and by voting with their feet.
Sainsbury’s plc in the UK also marketed the tomato and its puree, but not for
long. It was removed from the supermarket shelves and swiftly shoved back into
the GM Pandora’s Box. However, lurking in a laboratory somewhere, there is
probably some cryonic specimen waiting to enter a ‘Time Capsule’ or to try
its luck again – so beware! This genetic tampering with the tomato was ill-timed, because scientists
around the world had been researching the benefits of “lycopene”, the major
carotenoid content of the ‘red’ colour in tomatoes, which is highly
antioxidant. In fact, lycopene has a singlet oxygen scavenging ability twice as
high as beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A, and ten times higher than
that of vitamin E (alpha-topcopherol).4
“Lycopene is the most predominant carotenoid in human plasma, present
naturally in greater amounts than beta-carotene and other dietary carotenoids”,
which may signify its biological importance in the human defence system.4
Tomato Medicine: Research suggests that increasing intake of fruits and vegetables may reduce long-term risk of obesity and weight gain among middle-aged women5 and also that women who eat regular quantities of fruit, vegetables and protein may help reduce the risk of leukemia in children later born to them.6
Photographer
Scott Bauer However, specifically, tomatoes’ lycopene potent antioxidant has an enviable repertoire of health benefits. Research shows that: “Lycopene can be absorbed more efficiently by the body after it has been processed into juice, sauce, paste or ketchup. The chemical form of lycopene is altered by the temperature changes involved in processing to make it more easily absorbed by the body. Lycopene is ‘fat-soluble’, as are vitamins A, D, E and beta-carotene, so that absorption is further improved when oil is added to the diet. Although lycopene is available in supplement form, it is likely there is a synergistic effect when it is obtained from the whole fruit instead, where other components of the fruit enhance lycopene’s effectiveness.”4 Results from cancer research studies have caused an unprecedented demand for tomato lycopene. This instigated the University of Florida to research and produce high lycopene content cultivars. Foremost is a cultivar from a wild relative called the ‘currant tomato’ (Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium), which tiny fruits produce over 40 times more lycopene than the ordinary domesticated tomato. Tomatoes are definitely ‘in vogue’ as a dietary cancer preventive with a ranking profile of 16th among all fruits and vegetables for vitamin A, 13th in vitamin C.1 They also contain significant amounts of minerals iron, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and other vitamins, niacin, riboflavin and thiamine, as well as being a major source of lycopene and beta-carotene. It has been said to be “the single most important fruit or vegetable of western diets”. It is not only fresh tomatoes but tomato products, which are higher in lycopene content that are beneficial. Lycopene is present in lesser amounts in Watermelon and Pink Grapefruit, but the Tomato is the Lycopene King. In the ratio of (mg/100g) the lycopene content of Raw tomato is 3mg, whereas Tomato soup (condensed) is 7.2mg, Tomato juice is 9.5mg, Tomato sauce 14.1, Tomato ketchup 15.9mg, Spaghetti Sauce 21.9mg and the most powerful is Tomato paste 42.2mg.7 This gives free rein to supplement lycopene by diet, whilst at the same time accommodating the modern palate – No it doesn’t have to be unhealthily sloshed on ‘everything with chips’! This year
researchers found that tomato juice can ease diabetic symptoms. By drinking
tomato juice daily it reduces the blood’s clotting ability in people with Type
2 diabetes, who are more prone to blood clots, increasing the incidence and
likelihood of heart attacks and stroke, and other cardiovascular problems.8
There have been numerous good research results for lycopene. It has been
cited as beneficial to various forms of cancer, including colorectal adenomas.
With tomatoes having a prominent lycopene content, as well as beta-carotene, it
was established that research supported the hypothesis that lycopene contributes
to the protective effect of high tomato intakes against the risk of colorectal
adenomas.9 Lycopene’s use has featured very strongly in prevention and treatment
of male prostate cancer. This autumn American researchers working with human
prostate cancer cells concluded that it deserves even further study as both a
potential chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agent for prostatic cancer.11
Another recent research paper confirms that lycopene therapy appears to be
effect and safe in the treatment of hormone refractory metastatic prostate
cancer (HRPC) and recommends that: “Because of its relative innocuousness it
should be tried before the use of more toxic substances.” As prevention is always better than cure, last year dietary lycopene in
tomato-based products was investigated by researchers for cardiovascular disease
(CVD) in middle-aged women, a trend that has been noticeably rising, to
determine whether the intake of lycopene could be beneficial. This study was on
39,876 middle-aged and older women initially free of CVD and cancer.
This work suggested that dietary lycopene or other phytochemicals
consumed as oil-based tomato products confer cardiovascular benefits.12
Lycopene has also been looked at for the lungs, because the human lung,
due to the oxidative and ozone stress to which it is exposed, is particularly
vulnerable to oxidative damage. It had been noted that concentrations of dietary
antioxidants in the lung epithelial lining and lining fluids may provide
protection against oxidative damage. Researchers found that, although lycopene
can be found in the human lung, and there is evidence, albeit weak, for a
protective association with lung cancer, its biologic role remains to be
elucidated. They did however find that ‘case-control’ studies showed a
decreased risk with greater consumption of lycopene and tomatoes.13
The research on lycopene is now legion and stretches across the world
where answers from chemoprevention to chemotherapy are common targets and common
goals.14 And lycopene is looking good. However, in June 2002, in an
academic review and discussion paper, although it was recognized that lycopene
the antioxidant found naturally and predominantly in tomato products, which
properties are thought to be primarily responsible for its apparent beneficial
effects, it was not known how it worked. The data suggested, regarding
consumption of tomato and tomato products with risk of cancer at various sites,
that lycopene may account or contribute to chemoprevention, but that there are
numerous potentially beneficial compounds present in tomatoes and complex
interactions among them that could contribute to the anticancer properties of
tomatoes.10 The ‘how’ of tomato’s
lycopene to protect against cancer has been the question that did not have any
answer until this year when new research in Israel is thought to have identified
the unique mechanism through which lycopene protects: activating
cancer-preventive phase II enzymes. The research was conducted on breast and
liver cancer cells. In Science speak, it is very complicated, but suffice it to say that
lycopene activated the “antioxidant response element” that, in contrast,
other carotenoids including beta-carotene, did not effect. And, studies do show
that taking lycopene alone is not as effective as eating tomato products to
prevent cancer.15 Harking back to where we started with two announcements in one week on
the benefits of eating tomatoes, Dutch researchers have found that artificial or
synthetic lycopene slows cancer in mice. It slowed the growth of human prostate
tumours implanted in mice by over 50% by day 42 of the study.16 The
simple conclusion is that: “we would certainly recommend that all men
regularly eat lycopene and vitamin E-rich foods – for example, all kinds of
processed tomato products, papayas, pink grapefruit and watermelon, wheat germs,
whole grains, mangoes, leafy green vegetables, nuts and olive oils.”17
The second announcement that a food extract could be used to improve the
effects of an established cancer drug from Canadian researchers of the
University of Manitoba is not giving too much away, except to say the
researchers hope it will eventually be possible to take a ‘pill’ containing
the extract, which is derived from fruit and vegetables, alongside the drug in
question, MMC (Mitomycin C). However, “the key enzyme targeted by the
researchers is called NQ01”. The research in this case is to boost
chemotherapy drugs by developing a dietary supplement in order to reduce the
dosage of drugs with fewer and less severe side-effects for patients. However,
this NQ01 is the same chemical (NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase1 = (NQ01) cited
by the Israeli researchers regarding the mechanism through which “lycopene
carotenoid” protects against cancer: activating cancer-preventive phase II
enzymes. Lycopene increased production and activity of these protective enzymes.
The Canadian researchers do not state what fruits and vegetables extracts
are being used, but it would seem from these latest findings that eating
Tomatoes and their lycopene content may have more far reaching effects than is
at present known in totem. Bring on the Toms! References: 1.
http://www.landscapeimagery.com/tomato.html - ‘From Wolf Peach to Outer Space.’ Cutler KD. 1998. www.bbg.org.
2.
Ibid - ‘Agricultural
Origins: Centers and Noncenters’ Harlan JR. Science
174:468-473 3.
Ibid - ‘Tomato
Production, Processing and Quality Evaluation’, Gould WA. 2ed. AVI
Publishing Company, Inc. Westport, CT. pp 3-50. 5.
“Changes
in intake of fruits and vegetables in relation to risk of obesity and weight
gain among middle-aged women.” He K, et
al. Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.
USA. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004 Oct [Epub ahead of print];
doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0802795. 6.
“Fruit
and vegetables may reduce child leukaemia” ‘Natural Products’ October
2004 Issue No. 120- Researchers Uv. of California, USA. 8.
“Inhibition
of platelet aggregation from people with Type 2 diabetes mellitus following
consumption of tomato juice.” Lazarus
SA, Garg ML. Nutrition and Dietetics, Uv. Of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW,
Australia. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr.
2004;13(Suppl):S65. 9.
“Lycopene,
beta-carotene, and colorectal adenomas.” Erhardt JG, et al. Dept. of Physiology of Nutrition, Hohenheim Uv.,
Stuttgart, Germany. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Dec: 78 (6): 1219-24. 10.
“Can
the consumption of tomatoes or lycopene reduce cancer risk?”
Hwang Es, Bowen PE. Dept. of Human Nutrition, Uv. Of Illinois at Chicago, IL
USA. Integr Cancer Ther. 2002 Jun; 1(2): 121-32; discussion 132. 11.
“Cell
cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis by lycopene in LNCaP human prostate
cancer cells.”
Hwang ES, Bowen PE, Dept. of Human Nutrition, Uv. Of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA.
J Med Food. 2004 Fall;7(3):284-9. “Lycopene: A novel drug
therapy in hormone refractory metastatic prostate cancer.” Ansari MS,
Gupta AP. Dept of Urology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi,
India. Urol Oncol. 2004 Sep-Oct;22(5):415-20. 12.
“Dietary
lycopene, tomato-based food products and cardiovascular disease in women.”
Sesso HD et al. Division of Preventive Medicine, Dept of Medicinde, Brigham
and Women’s Hospital Boston, MA, USA. J
Nutr. 2003 Jul; 133(7):2336-41. 13.
“Lycopene
and the lung.” ArabL,
et al. Dept of Epidemiology, Uv. Of North Carolina, NC USA. Exp
Biol Med (Maywood). 2002 Nov;227(10):894-9. 14.
“From
chemoprevention to chemotherapy: common targets and common goals.” Aggarwell
BB, et al. The Uv. Of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Cytokine Research
Section, Dept of Experimental Therapeutics, Houston, Texas, USA. Expert
Opin Investig Drugs. 2004 Oct;13(10):1327-38. 15.
www.whfoods.com
– Dr. J.
Levy et al. Ben-Gurion Uv. Of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. 16.
‘Tomato
Treatment’ slows cancer.
BBC online News 30.9.2004. Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, Holland. 17.
Ibid. Dr
Jacqueline Limpens quote from Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, Holland. 18.
“Food
extract boosts cancer drug”. BBC New Online 8th October 2004.
Researchers: University of Manitoba, Canada.
‘Association between NAD(P)H:quinone odixoreductase 1 (NQ01) inactivating
C609T polymorphism and adenocarcinoma of the upper gastrointestinal tract.’
Sarbia M, et al. Institute of
Pathology, Technical Uv. Of Munich, Munchen, Germany. Int
J Cancer. 2003 Nov 10;107(3):381-6. *Recipes: 1.
- http://www.pastrywiz.com
- Marinated Tomato Salad 2.
http://www.worldfamousrecipes.com/tomato-recipes.html
- Vine Ripened Tomatoes Provencal, Vine Ripened Tomato Caprese Salad,
Tomatoes stuffed with Shrimp, Tomatoes Spanish Style, Tomato Sauce, Tomato
Relish, Tomato Ketchup, Tomato Jam, Tomato Hungarian Stew, Tomato Goulash,
Tomato Gazpacho, Tomato Chilli Sauce, Tomato Catsup,
Tomato Basil Pasta Salad, etc. 3.
http://www.hugs.org/materdex.shtml
- Baked Tomatoes, Creole Tomatoes, Jellied Tomatoes, etc. |
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