Tomato juice consumption reduces systemic inflammation in overweight and obese females

Abstract

Tomatoes are the richest source of lycopene, a potent antioxidant. Tomato products improve antioxidant defences and reduce the risk of inflammatory diseases, at least partly, due to the presence of lycopene. Lycopene, as an anti-inflammatory agent, prevents the production of inflammatory cytokines. Obesity is a chronic inflammatory condition in which the increased level of body fat leads to an increase in circulating inflammatory mediators. We hypothesised that the consumption of a lycopene-rich food would reduce inflammation in people who are overweight or obese. A total of 106 overweight or obese female students of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences were enrolled and randomly allocated to an intervention group (n 53) or a control group (n 53) consuming 330 ml/d of tomato juice or water, respectively, for 20 d. At baseline and day 20, serum concentrations of IL-6, IL-8, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and TNF-a were analysed by ELISA and compared between the groups. Serum concentrations of IL-8 and TNF-a decreased significantly in the intervention group compared with the control group and with baseline. Subgroup analysis indicated that this effect was confined to subjects who were overweight. Among obese subjects, serum IL-6 concentration was decreased in the intervention group compared with the control group, with no differences in IL-8 and TNF-a observed. Tomato juice reduces inflammation in overweight and obese females. Thus, increasing tomato intake may provide a useful approach for reducing the risk of inflammatory diseases such as CVD and diabetes, which are associated with obesity.

Diet-related inflammation and oesophageal cancer by histological type: a nationwide case–control study in Sweden

“…An association between diet and inflammation has been consistently demonstrated in observational studies [21], intervention trials [22,23], and animal experiments [24]. In these studies, low-fat diet [22], fruit [25], tomatoes [23,26], nuts [27], whole grains [21,28], fish [29], and, especially, nutrients from foods rich in phytochemicals or antioxidants (e.g. carotene, lycopene, vitamin C, flavonoids [30][31][32]) have been found to have anti-inflammatory properties.…”

Dietary supplementation with tomato-juice in patients with metabolic syndrome: A suggestion to alleviate detrimental clinical factors

“…Furthermore, it has recently been demonstrated that tomato juice administration reduced flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD), which is a marker of endothelial function, in ultra-marathon runners (Samaras et al, 2014). In another study among obese patients, serum IL-6 concentration was decreased following lycopene administration (Ghavipour et al, 2013). A limiting effect of lycopene on adipose tissue pro-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine production has also been reported in mice, suggesting prevention or limitation of the prevalence of obesity-associated pathologies, such as insulin resistance (Gouranton et al, 2011).…”

“…LDL oxidation is a key factor in the development and progression of atherosclerotic lesions. Paraoxinase (PON) has the ability to protect HDL and LDL oxidation (Ghavipour et al, 2013). A number of studies have shown that tomato products favorably affect lipid metabolism (Ali and Agha, 2009;Fuhran et al, 1997;Navarro-González et al, 2014;Sesso et al, 2012).…”

β-Carotene Concentration and Its Association with Inflammatory Biomarkers in Spanish Schoolchildren

“…In agreement, reduced serum IL-6 levels, but not IL-8 or TNF-α levels, were recorded in a group of 10 obese female university students (compared to 9 controls) after ingesting 330 mL/day of tomato juice every day for 20 days [57]. This effect was attributed to the anti-inflammatory effects of the lycopene in the tomato juice [56], which reduces the translocation of NF-kB and in turn the reduced expression of inflammatory biomarkers, including IL-8 and TNF-α [57]. According to these authors, the anti-inflammatory effects attributed to lycopene could be influenced by the presence of β-carotene and vitamin C in the tomato juice because these nutrients have been shown to decrease inflammation via their probable redox-based effect on the inactivation of NF-kB.…”