Nine commercial varieties of tomato (Rambo, Senior, Ramillete, Liso, Pera, Canario, Durina, Daniella and Remate) produced in Spain were analysed for their lycopene content, content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity. The phenolic compounds were characterised as avonoids (quercetin, kaempferol and naringenin) and hydroxycinnamic acids (caffeic, chlorogenic, ferulic and p-coumaric acids). Antioxidant activity was measured using the DPPH and ABTS assays. The concentrations of lycopene and the various phenolic compounds as well as the antioxidant activity were signi®cantly in¯uenced by the tomato variety. Quercetin, the most abundant¯avonoid, was found in concentrations ranging between 7.19 and 43.59 mg kg À1 fresh weight, while naringenin levels were lower than 12.55 mg kg À1 . The most abundant hydroxycinnamic acid was chlorogenic acid, with values ranging from 14 to 32 mg kg À1 fresh weight, followed by caffeic acid, while p-coumaric and ferulic acids showed similar concentrations lower than 5 mg kg À1 . The highest content of lycopene was found in Ramillete, Pera and Durina (>50 mg kg À1 fresh weight), while the concentration in the other varieties was between 50 and 30 mg kg À1 , with the exception of Liso (less than 20 mg kg À1 ). The antioxidant activity of tomato extracts varied with the tomato variety and the assay method used. Individual compounds found to be signi®cantly related to antioxidant capacity were lycopene and ferulic and caffeic acids, but not quercetin and chlorogenic acid.

A human study was carried out to investigate whether tomato juice, rich in natural lycopene and fortified with vitamin C, is able to reduce several biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation and whether the effect can be attributed to lycopene, vitamin C or any other micronutrient. Following a 2-week depletion phase, volunteers were assigned randomly to ingest either tomato juice with (LC) or without (L) vitamin C fortification for 2 weeks (daily dose 20·6 mg lycopene and 45·5/435 mg vitamin C). Plasma and urine were analysed for carotenoids and vitamin C, lipid status, antioxidant capacity, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and 8-epi-PGF2α, protein carbonyls, cytokines IL-1β and TNFα and C-reactive protein (CRP). The consumption of tomato juice led to a reduction in total cholesterol levels (L: 157·6v. 153·2 mg/dl,P = 0·008; LC: 153·4v. 147·4 mg/dl,P = 0·002) and that of CRP (L: 315·6v. 262·3 μg/l,P = 0·017; LC: 319·2v. 247·1 μg/l,P = 0·001) in both groups. The vitamin C-fortified juice slightly raised the antioxidant capacity in urine and decreased TBARS in plasma and urine. All other markers were affected to a lesser extent or remained unchanged. Cholesterol reduction was correlated with lycopene uptake (P = 0·003), whereas the other effects could not be related with particular micronutrients. Any beneficial effects of tomato consumption for human health cannot be attributed only to lycopene and, as the additional supplementation with ascorbic acid indicates, a variety of antioxidants might be needed to optimize protection against chronic diseases.

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Edible flowers are commonly used in human nutrition and their consumption has increased in recent years. The aim of this study was to ascertain the nutritional composition and the content and profile of phenolic compounds of three edible flowers, monks cress (Tropaeolum majus), marigold (Tagetes erecta) and paracress (Spilanthes oleracea), and to determine the relationship between the presence of phenolic compounds and the antioxidant capacity. Proximate composition, total dietary fibre (TDF) and minerals were analysed according to official methods: total phenolic compounds (TPC) were determined with Folin-Ciocalteu’s reagent, whereas antioxidant capacity was evaluated using Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) and Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) assays. In addition, phenolic compounds were characterised by HPLC-DAD-MSn. In relation to the nutritional value, the edible flowers had a composition similar to that of other plant foods, with a high water and TDF content, low protein content and very low proportion of total fat—showing significant differences among samples. The levels of TPC compounds and the antioxidant capacity were significantly higher in T. erecta, followed by S. oleracea and T. majus. Thirty-nine different phenolic compounds were tentatively identified, with flavonols being the major compounds detected in all samples, followed by anthocyanins and hydroxycynnamic acid derivatives. In T. erecta small proportions of gallotannin and ellagic acid were also identified.