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News

France: INRAE studies the benefits of tomatoes on human health

28/10/2022 - François-Xavier Branthôme - Lire en français

"Lycopene, when taken in isolation, presents proven beneficial effects"
Various INRAE teams are currently working on the health benefits of tomatoes, a fruit that is also one of the most widely consumed vegetables in the world.

According to information provided by the INRAE for France, 18 kg of tomatoes are consumed per year and per inhabitant in processed form and 15 kg in fresh form. Low in calories and high in fiber, tomatoes also contain carotenoids, mainly lycopene, whose antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects have been known for about twenty years. It also provides minerals and vitamins. But these health benefits depend on many factors. INRAE scientists explain that they are related to the concentration of these beneficial compounds. This concentration depends on the variety of tomato and on growing conditions, among other things. The effects of these compounds depend on how the body assimilates them, in other words, their bioaccessibility and bioavailability. These properties are influenced, among other things, by the processing procedure applied to the tomato.

The benefits of lycopene
According to the INRAE website, "lycopene, taken alone, has demonstrated beneficial effects against oxidative stress by binding reactive forms of oxygen. It has anti-inflammatory effects, correlated in humans to a reduction in cardiovascular risk, metabolic syndrome and a number of cancers. It could also have an effect on obesity, with convincing results observed on mice."
"These encouraging results in mice have led researchers to plan a clinical study in humans, which should begin in 2024 at the Conception Clinical Investigation Center in Marseille, France. The aim is to observe the effects of tomato powder incorporated into the diet of pre-diabetic individuals, with a view to disease prevention," explains Jean-François Landrier (see additional information at the end of this article), Director of research at the Cardiovascular and Nutrition Center.

The benefits of tomato powder
Tomato powder represents a very interesting form of tomato consumption. It is convenient to use and potentially available all year round. It is already widely used in industry, in soups and many culinary preparations. "Lycopene is known to be more bioavailable in tomato puree than in fresh tomatoes. It is a relatively stable molecule. As part of our TomHealth project, several teams are working on optimizing the tomato powder manufacturing process, in particular drying, in order to preserve its nutritional qualities," adds Jean-François Landrier. A similar project, TomAbility (see our additional information at the end of this article), is looking at the properties of tomato puree.

Another factor needs to be considered: tomato growing conditions play a major role, and in particular the effect of water shortage, which is becoming more and more important in the context of global warming. "Tomatoes are an irrigated crop, whether in the field for industrial uses, or in greenhouses/tunnels for table tomatoes. It is important to understand the influence of water stress on the health benefits of tomatoes, as this could help adjust irrigation practices," says Nadia Bertin, who works in the Plants and Horticultural Cropping Systems department.

The importance of genotype
Some studies have shown that water stress could promote the production of carotenoids, one of the physiological roles of which is to protect plant cells against oxidative stress, which can sometimes accompany water stress. But the situation is not so simple, as various studies have shown that the effects of water shortage depend on its intensity, the stage at which it occurs in the development of the plant and, finally, the genotype of the tomato tested. It should also be taken into account that in case of water stress, tomatoes are less rich in water, which induces a concentration effect of carotenoids, without increasing their synthesis. "In any case, our work has allowed us to identify tomato genotypes that are richer in carotenoids, such as the H1311 cultivar developed by Heinz. It is however a less productive genotype under stress conditions. As is often the case, there is a trade-off between yield, quality and stress resistance. That's why we have to integrate all these components," concludes Nadia Bertin.

Some complementary data
The following links provide more information on the TomHealth and TomAbility projects:
https://c2vn.univ-amu.fr/projet-anr-tomhealth/?lang=en

https://www6.paca.inrae.fr/sqpov/Projets-Partenariats/Projets/Projets-nationaux-institutionnels/Tom-Health-2021-2024

https://www.tomatonews.com/en/france-the-tomability-project-_2_521.html

https://www6.paca.inrae.fr/sqpov/Projets-Partenariats/Projets/Projets-nationaux-institutionnels/Tomability-2019-2022

https://www6.paca.inrae.fr/sqpov_eng/Projects-Partnership/Projects/National-Institutional-projects/Tomability-2019-2022

During the last World Congress of the processing tomato sector, organized by the Argentinean industry in March 2022, Prof. Jean-François Landrier presented a lecture entitled "Advances in Research on the Health Benefits of Tomatoes & Nutrigenomics".

Source: reussir.fr

France: the Tom\'ability project

16/10/2018 See details

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