Tomato fruit and products are good for the heart

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is considered a serious global public health problem. According to World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, at present, CVD is the leading cause of death in the world with 17.7 million people deaths every year. Even though in Europe CVD global mortality has fallen considerably over recent decades, it remains the major cause of premature death (WHO 2017). The WHO defines CVD as a group of disorders in the heart and blood vessels that includes coronary heart disease (heart attacks), cerebrovascular diseases (stroke), hypertension, peripheral vasculopathies, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease and heart failure. These disorders originate from a chronic inflammatory vascular process that ends up producing endothelial dysfunction, arteriosclerosis.

Different epidemiological studies and interventional trials evaluate the association between tomato products intake and CVD and/or their risk factors progression. A recent review carried out by Montaña Cámara et al. (https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2019.1577215) show that tomato products on platelet aggregation reduction, which depend on the presence of different bioactive compounds, such us phenolic compounds, carotenoids and others, in quantities enough to produce a relevant physiological effect when consumed as part of a normal diet. This is the case of lycopene, a bioactive compound present in tomato and tomato products, that can exert cardiovascular beneficial effects acting as an antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-atherogenic, cardioprotective and antiplatelet agent. The above-mentioned review results support the development of promising nutritional strategies involving tomatoes and tomato products to tackle CVD as antiplatelet aggregation.