Tomatoes are readily available and affordable vegetables that offer a range of health benefits due to their bioactive molecules, such as antioxidants and antimicrobials. In contrast to the widely recognized antioxidant properties of tomatoes, their antimicrobial properties are largely unexplored. In a new study, scientists at Cornell University investigated the antimicrobial properties of tomato juice as well as tomato-derived antimicrobial peptides in relation to their effectiveness against foodborne pathogens with an emphasis on Salmonella Typhi, a pathogen that specifically affects humans and is responsible for causing typhoid fever.
Kwon et al. offer valuable insights into the potential utilization of tomatoes as a natural antimicrobial food source for the promotion of public health; given their widespread popularity and cost effectiveness, tomatoes possess considerable potential as alternative antimicrobial agents within lifestyle interventions. Image credit: Catalin Stefan.
Tomatoes, scientifically known as Solanum lycopersicum, are highly popular vegetables globally, owing to their exceptional taste and wide range of applications in various culinary traditions.
The nutritional composition of tomatoes, including their abundance of beneficial compounds like lycopene, polyphenols, and vitamins, has been extensively studied and linked to a wide range of health advantages.
Additionally, tomatoes have the advantage of being able to thrive in a wide range of regions with varying climate conditions.
According to the 2021 report by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, Asia is the leading global producer of tomatoes, representing 64.8% of the total global tomato production.
Europe, Africa, North America, and South America account for 13.3%, 11.6%, 5.98%, and 3.95% of the total tomato production, respectively.
“Our main goal in this study was to find out if tomato and tomato juice can kill enteric pathogens, including Salmonella Typhi, and if so, what qualities they have that make them work,” said study’s senior author Dr. Jeongmin Song, a researcher at Cornell University.
In lab experiments, Dr. Song and her colleagues checked to see if tomato juice really does kill Salmonella Typhi.
Once they ascertained it did, the researchers looked at the tomato’s genome to find the antimicrobial peptides that were involved.
Antimicrobial peptides are very small proteins that impair the bacterial membrane that keeps them as intact organisms.
The scientists chose four possible antimicrobial peptides and tested how well they worked against Salmonella Typhi.
This helped them find two antimicrobial peptides effective against this pathogen.
The authors conducted more tests on Salmonella Typhi variants that appear in places where the disease is common.
They also did a computer study to learn more about how the antibacterial peptides kill Salmonella Typhi and other enteric pathogens.
They looked at how well tomato juice worked against other enteric pathogens that can hurt people’s digestive and urinary tract health.
The most significant discovery is that tomato juice is effective in eliminating Salmonella Typhi, its hypervirulent variants, and other bacteria that can harm people’s digestive and urinary tract health.
In particular, two antimicrobial peptides can eliminate these pathogens by impairing the bacterial membrane, a protective layer that surrounds the pathogen.
“Our research shows that tomato and tomato juice can get rid of enteric bacteria like Salmonella,” Dr. Song said.
Their findings were published today in the journal Microbiology Spectrum.
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Ryan S. Kwon et al. Antimicrobial properties of tomato juice and peptides against typhoidal Salmonella. Microbiology Spectrum, published online January 30, 2024; doi: 10.1128/spectrum.03102-23
Source : Breaking Science News