Enriched Tomatoes Could Boost Cardiovascular Health

Can genetically engineered food add to our health? A new 7-week study on mice has examined whether consuming flavonoid-enriched tomatoes or wild tomatoes has any beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk markers, and if so, whether enriched tomatoes can enhance those effects. Results showed that compared with baseline, wild tomatoes and flavonoid-enriched tomatoes reduced basal human C-reactive protein concentrations by 43% and 56%, respectively (J Nutr. 2006;136:2331-2337).

The amount of tomato peel that was fed to the mice was equivalent to a human daily intake of 2.3 g of peel, or about 230 g of fresh tomato.

According to lead investigator Deitrich Rein, PhD, of the BASF Plant Science Holding, Limburgerhof, Germany, and colleagues, these findings demonstrate for the first time that a genetically engineered fruit with enhanced flavonoid levels can have greater antiinflammatory effects than those of its wild-type counterpart.