Lowering of plasma LDL cholesterol in hamsters by the tomato glycoalkaloid tomatine

The beneficial effects of almond (Prunus amygdalus Batsch) hull on serum lipid profile and antioxidant capacity in male rats

“…Some epidemiological studies have shown that the consumption of foods rich in natural antioxidants increases plasma antioxidant capacity and reduces the risk of heart disease and cancer (14)(15)(16)(17). Several studies have shown that antioxidant activity may be ascribed more to compounds such as flavonoids, isoflavones, flavones, anthocyanins, catechins, and other phenols (14,(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21). Free radical scavenging and metal chelating are two main mechanisms involved in this process (13,22).…”

The anticancer activity of alpha-tomatine against mammary adenocarcinoma in mice

“…during tomato fruit maturation, the levels of ΤΟΜ decrease considerably, which, among other factors, brings about a reduction in the bitter flavour 2 . In mammals, a wide variety of health-promoting properties of ΤΟΜ have been reported, including the lowering of plasma concentrations of LDL and triacylglycerols 3 and cardiotonic 1 and antiviral activity 4 . ΤΟΜ may also contribute to the stimulation of antigen-specific humoral and cellular immune response, including the augmentation of anticancer defence 5 .…”

Hypolipidemic Effects of Enzyme-Treated Tomato Cake on Sprague-Dawley Rats Fed a High Cholesterol Diet

“…Although there were many health improving components in tomatoes such as glycolalkaloids (Friedman et al 1996), α-tomatine and dehydrotomatine (Friedman & Levin 1998), the major health improving component in red tomatoes is believed to be lycopene, one of the major carotenoid pigments (Friedman et al 2000;Visioli et al 2003). Gerster (1997) reported that lycopene in red tomatoes was related to the reduction of blood cholesterol levels.…”

“…Nishina et al (1991) reported that gums extracted from various water soluble fibers could reduce both serum and liver cholesterol in rats. The effects of the gums on the reduction of cholesterol in human or animals were controversial by different investigators, presumably because the effects might be greatly dependant on the properties of the individual gum or the amounts of cholesterol levels in the feed (Friedman et al 2000).…”

“…However, considerable studies agreed that the hypo-lipidemic effect of water soluble fibers in fat-limited feed might decrease serum cholesterol levels to approximately 20～30% (Friedman et al 2000). Friedeman et al (2000) investigated the effects of red and green tomatoes on the serum profiles in hamsters and concluded that red tomatoes could reduce serum LDL and triglyceride levels; however the active components in reducing serum LDL level could not be identified.…”