Tomato extract  lycopene content, health benefit by Ray Sahelian, M.D.
April 12 2016

Botanically speaking, a tomato is a fruit since it is the ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant. However, from a culinary perspective, the tomato is served as part of a main course of a meal, as are other vegetables, rather than at dessert. The term "vegetable" has no botanical meaning and is purely a culinary term.

Benefit of tomato plant extract and lycopene
Tomatoes have many antioxidants including the popular lycopene. Is a lycopene supplement necessary for optimal health? If you have a high intake of tomatoes and fruits such as pink grapefruit or watermelon that have a high lycopene content, you may not need additional lycopene supplements. However, if you shun tomato products, and hardly eat watermelon, pink grapefruit, or other lycopene containing foods, then a lycopene supplement could be of benefit to you. To learn more about lycopene.

Prostate cancer
Tomato product consumption and estimated lycopene intake are thought to reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

Harefuah. 2013. Lycopene and tomatoes--their effect on prevention of prostatic cancer]. Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer and it is the second most common cause of cancer-related death among men in the western world. Microscopic prostate cancer was found in up to 30% of men as early as 20-40 years old of age. Lycopene is a lipid soluble carotenoid molecule. It is found in high concentration in red fruit and vegetables. Lycopene has a significant anti-oxidative activity. There is laboratory evidence that explain it's function as an inhibitor of various tumors as well as epidemiological evidence that shows that lycopene-rich foods reduce the incidence of a few types of cancer and especially prostate cancer. This paper reviews the evidence that explain lycopene activity, its biological effect and availability and its effect on the prevention of prostate cancer.

Lycopene content of tomato and tomato products per 100 grams.
Tomato Juice has 9 mg; Tomato Ketchup 17 mg; Spaghetti Sauce about 16 mg; and Tomato Paste has about 30 mg. In contract, a raw tomato has about 3 mg per 100 grams of fruit.

Buy organic tomatoes
Organic vegetables and fruits are healthier for you. For instance, two flavonoids - quercetin and kaempferol - are found in higher amounts in organic tomatoes.

Tomato extract benefit
In December 2009, the European Commission, the European Union’s legal body, confirmed that the extract, patented as Fruitflow, contributes to healthy blood flow, and allowed manufacturers to use such claims in advertising. This is the first time such a health claim has been authorized by the Commission. The allowance follows clinical trials out of Britain that suggest that foods and drinks fortified with Fruitflow have the same blood-thinning benefits as aspirin -- minus the harmful side effects, like gastric distress. In 1999, while studying the particulars of the Mediterranean diet, Professor Asim Dutta-Roy, then at Aberdeen, Scotland’s Rowett Institute, found that a natural ingredient in the gel around tomato seeds promoted heart health. Research by Asim Dutta-Roy revealed  that the tomato ingredient helped smooth platelets and prevent blood clots. Fruitflow is used in Sirco Fruit Juice, a brand only available in Britain. Its manufacturers hope to introduce the colorless, tasteless, fat- and protein-free syrup to other foods like yogurt and margarine, and to sell it in tablet and capsule forms.

Tomato research
Tomatoes, tomato products and lycopene in the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer: do we have the evidence from intervention studies?
Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2006. Department of Food and Nutrition Sciences - Nutrition Physiology bDepartment of Urology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Lycopene-rich foods such as fresh tomatoes and tomato products are discussed as potential effectors in the prevention and therapy of prostate cancer. This review provides an overview on the efficacy of supplementation with tomatoes, tomato products and lycopene on appropriate surrogate endpoint biomarkers such as DNA damage and metabolites of the insulin-like growth factor pathway in healthy individuals and prostate cancer patients. Intervention studies show that the daily consumption of one serving of tomatoes or tomato products, but not supplementation with lycopene alone, increases the resistance of mononuclear leukocytes against DNA strand breaks induced by reactive oxygen species in healthy volunteers. Data from clinical trials with prostate cancer patients are scarce and contradictory. There is a paucity of reliable data on DNA damage in prostate tissue. Increasing evidence suggests that a single serving of tomatoes or tomato products ingested daily may contribute to protect from DNA damage. As DNA damage seems to be involved in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer, the regular ingestion of tomatoes or tomato products might prevent the disease. Further well-designed studies are necessary to establish the role of tomatoes and tomato products in the prevention and therapy of prostate cancer.

Effects of antiplatelet components of tomato extract on platelet function in vitro and ex vivo: a time-course cannulation study in healthy humans 1,2,3
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2006
Natural antithrombotic agents that influence platelet function are of potential interest for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Previous reports showed that tomato extracts. The objectives of the study were to examine the antiplatelet activity of specific tomato components by in vitro experimentation and to establish their ex vivo efficacy in healthy humans. The mechanisms of action of antiplatelet components isolated from tomato extracts were examined in vitro. A 7-h time-course study was carried out in cannulated human subjects (n = 23) to determine the ex vivo efficacy of a supplement drink containing tomato extract and the onset and duration of antiplatelet effects. Results: The inhibition of ADP-, collagen-, thrombin-, and arachidonate-mediated platelet aggregation by tomato extract components appears to be linked to the inhibition of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa and platelet secretory mechanisms. We found a significant inhibition of baseline platelet function after supplementation with a dose of tomato extract equivalent to 6 tomatoes. The observed effects persisted for >12 h. Coagulation variables were not affected. Conclusions: The ingestion of tomato components with in vitro antiplatelet activity significantly affects ex vivo platelet function. The reported cardioprotective effects of tomatoes are potentially linked to a modulation of platelet function.