Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Produce Safety and Microbiology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #294145
Title: Protein, free amino acid, phenloic, ß-carotene, and lycopene content, and antioxidative and cancer cell inhibitory effects of 12 greenhouse-grown commercial cherry tomato varieties

Author
item CHOI, SUK HYUN - Seowon University, Korea
item KIM, DONG-SEOK - Daegu University
item KOZUKUE, NOBUYUKI - Daegu University
item KIM, HYUN-JEONG - Daegu University
item NISHITANI, YOSUKE - Kobe University
item MIZUNO, MASASHI - Kobe University
item Levin, Carol
item Friedman, Mendel

Submitted to: Journal of Food Composition and Analysis
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/15/2014
Publication Date: 4/2/2014
Citation: Choi, S., Kim, D., Kozukue, N., Kim, H., Nishitani, Y., Mizuno, M., Levin, C.E., Friedman, M. 2014. Protein, free amino acid, phenloic, ß-carotene, and lycopene content, and antioxidative and cancer cell inhibitory effects of 12 greenhouse-grown commercial cherry tomato varieties. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. 34(2):115-127. DOI: 10.1016/j.jfca.2014.03.005.

Interpretive Summary: Tomatoes, the fruit of the species Solanum lycopersicum, are a good source of nutrients and bioactive compounds. The nature and concentration of synthesized compounds are influenced by agricultural practices, environmental factors, variety, and ripeness. There is a large variation between cultivars with respect to both fruit size and color, which could affect their beneficial properties. The present study aims to increase our understanding of the distribution of free amino acids, proteins, the pigments ß-carotene and lycopene, and phenolic compounds(flavonoids), as well as antioxidative and cancer-cell-inhibiting effects, among a diverse collection of cherry tomato varieties. Because composition can vary significantly under different environmental conditions, the 12 minitomatoes in this study were grown under the same conditions. We measured composition using mass spectrometry, antioxidative activities by two assays, and effects on the growth of normal and cancer cells by the MTT assay. Overall, cervical carcinoma cells were the most susceptible to inhibition by the minitomato extracts. The results demonstrate differences and similarities in the content of bioactive compounds and in bioactivities. The characterized phenolic compounds (flavonoids) merit study for their ability to inhibit foodborne pathogens and bacterial toxins.

Technical Abstract: The content of water, free amino acids, amino acid metabolites, crude protein, the carotene pigments ß-carotene and lycopene, and 9 characterized and 2 incompletely characterized individual phenolic (flavonoid) compounds of 12 greenhouse-grown cherry tomato varieties of various colors (green, yellow, orange, red, and black) was determined using HPLC and LC/MS methods. Antioxidative effects using the ABTS and FRAP assays and cancer-cell-inhibiting effects against 2 normal (Chang liver and Hel299 lung) and 3 human cancer (lung A549; liver HepG2; and cervical HeLa) cell lines using the MTT cell viability assay were also determined. Lycopene inhibited all the cell lines, but showed strong activity against the cervical carcinoma and the lung cancer cells. The tomato extracts showed inhibition at the higher doses. The HeLa cervical carcinoma cell line was most inhibited by the pure compounds, and the HeLa or the HepG2 cells lines were the most inhibited by the tomato extracts. The results demonstrate wide-ranging differences as well as similarities in the content of nutritional and bioactive compounds in cherry tomatoes, and suggest that such knowledge can benefit consumers.