Chemical Characterisation and Antihypertensive Effects of Locular Gel and Serum of Lycopersicum esculentum L. var. “Camone” Tomato in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Abstract

Blood pressure control in hypertensive subjects calls for changes in lifestyle, especially diet. Tomato is widely consumed and rich in healthy components (i.e., carotenoids, vitamins and polyphenols). The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition and antihypertensive effects of locular gel reconstituted in serum of green tomatoes of “Camone” variety. Tomato serum and locular gel were chemically characterised. The antihypertensive effects of the locular gel in serum, pure tomatine, and captopril, administered by oral gavage, were investigated for 4 weeks in male spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive rats. Systolic blood pressure and heart rate were monitored using the tail cuff method. Body and heart weight, serum glucose, triglycerides and inflammatory cytokines, aorta thickness and liver metabolising activity were also assessed. Locular gel and serum showed good tomatine and polyphenols content. Significant reductions in blood pressure and heart rate, as well as in inflammatory blood cytokines and aorta thickness, were observed in spontaneously hypertensive rats treated both with locular gel in serum and captopril. No significant effects were observed in normotensive rats. Green tomatoes locular gel and serum, usually discarded during tomato industrial processing, are rich in bioactive compounds (i.e., chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and rutin, as well as the glycoalkaloids, α-tomatine and dehydrotomatine) that can lower in vivo blood pressure towards healthier values, as observed in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Effects of Aqueous Extract of Lycopersicum esculentum L. var. “Camone” Tomato on Blood Pressure, Behavior and Brain Susceptibility to Oxidative Stress in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

“…Previous experiments performed in our laboratory, as well as studies by other researchers [4,23], have confirmed that the levels of locomotor and searching activities are higher in SHRs than in WKY rats. Interestingly, an attenuation of locomotor hyperactivity, as determined by a significant decrease in locomotion, was observed in SHRs receiving tomato Gs, tomatine and captopril with respect to SHRs receiving vehicle.…”

“…Previous studies have shown that Camone tomato fraction (the locular gel surrounding the seeds and the serum, normally discarded during industrial processing of tomato concentrate, tomato pulp and tomato sauce) is rich in bioactive compounds [3,4] such as the glycoalkaloid tomatine and chlorogenic and caffeic acids, important biologically active dietary polyphenols. Although it differs in chemical components from red tomatoes, the Camone variety has a higher antioxidant capacity [3,4]. Some authors have reported that the consumption of natural polyphenols results in an improvement of cognitive functions [22].…”

“…Over the past two decades, there has been increasing interest in the potential health benefits associated with the intake of nutraceuticals and functional food [ 1 , 2 ]. In previous papers, it was demonstrated that the locular gel and serum from the Camone tomato variety, which often represents waste for tomato industries, contains high amounts of glycoalkaloids (α-tomatine and dehydrotomatine) and polyphenols, of which chlorogenic acid is the most abundant [ 3 , 4 ]. Many reports have highlighted the benefits of these bioactive compounds, either isolated or in combined extracts, depending on dose and conditions of use.…”

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

“…Although not always explicitly recognized in studies, five used simple gf mutants [67,71,78,127,130], one a gf gs combination [93], and one a couple of green-fruited genotypes that were supposedly due to the combination of gf and r [71].…”

Combined Experimental and Multivariate Model Approaches for Glycoalkaloid Quantification in Tomatoes

“…It is now well known that glycoalkaloids also possess beneficial effects for human health [ 6 , 8 , 9 , 10 ], as well as many other secondary metabolites [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Thus, rapid methods for the quantification of α-tomatine and dehydrotomatine in tomato fruits are potentially useful.…”