By agrimag
A study revealed that different colored tomatoes contain different levels of antioxidants.
This study leads to the further understanding of the correlation of the pigments and the nutrient levels to possibly create another genotype of the fruit with higher nutritional compounds.
Laura Perez-Flores, Laboratory Head at the Department of Health Sciences at the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana in Mexico, and her team determined the different amounts present of carotenoid, polyphenol, and tocopherol on some hybrid and native tomatoes. The relation between the coloration and the antioxidant present in the said fruit are being studied.
Besides the antioxidant benefits, tomatoes are important to the human diet because of compounds in it that are anti-inflammatory, antiallergenic, and antithrombotic. Carotenoids and tocopherols present in tomatoes contain major lipophilic antioxidants. Also present in tomatoes are polyphenols, which are reported to interfere with cancer progression.
It was discovered by the team that coloration and antioxidant levels are related, though it wasn’t specifically disclosed in what way. The study aims to further know how to diversify more tomato genotypes that would possess higher antioxidant levels.
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