Tomato lycopene content by Ray Sahelian, M.D. Tomato health benefit

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 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.

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 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 Nov;9(6):722-7. 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, Vol. 84, No. 3, 570-579, September 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.