Tomato

Tomato is the second most produced vegetable. It is cultivated for fresh consumption and for processing into different industrial products, and is consumed throughout the whole world. As with other plant foods, the main component of tomato is water, whereas the protein and lipid contents are low, with the naturally occurring free sugars being the main component. Tomato is an important dietary source of bioactive compounds, mainly antioxidants, including ascorbic acid, vitamin E, folates, polyphenolic compounds, and carotenoids, with lycopene being responsible for the red color. For this reason, the comsumption of tomato products has been correlated with beneficial effects for the prevention of several noncommunicable diseases related to oxidative stress and inflammation. In this chapter we describe the nutritional composition of tomatoes and tomato products, the factors that affect their antioxidant composition, and their potential effects on health, especially with regard to cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, nonalcoholic fatty liver, cancer, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s disease.