According to Eugenio Butelli of the John Innes Centre in England and colleagues from Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, they transferred certain genes of snapdragons to tomatoes, creating a dark purple colored tomato with loads of antioxidants. When they tested the tomatoes on cancer-prone mice, it was found that a diet supplemented by purple tomato powder increased the life span of the mice compared to mice eating a standard diet or a diet supplemented with red tomato powder.
In conducting the experiment, the researchers made use of mutant mice that are all prone to cancer and divided them into three groups. These mice typically get tumors and die young.
In the first group, the mice were fed a standard diet. In the second group, the mice ate a powder taken from freeze-dried regular, red tomatoes. And in the third group, the mice were given a powder from freeze-dried dark purple tomatoes.
The experiment yields the following findings:
• Group 1 – standard diet – average life span of 142 days to 211 maximum
• Group 2 – red tomato diet – average life span of 146 days
• Group 3 – dark purple tomato – average life span of 182 days to 260 days maximum
The dark purple tomatoes were richer in anthocyanins, which are pigments produced by plants especially common in grapes, blackberries, blueberries, and other fruits. Based on research, anthocyanins are potent antioxidants and may provide a variety of health benefits, from promoting a healthy heart to fighting cancer.
The researchers wrote that the figures argue strongly for the development of strategies to increase the levels of health promoting bioactive compounds such as anthocycanins in the fruits and vegetables people consume in substantial amounts.
Mark Walters is a part-time writer and a part-time researcher. He is currently self-studying various Far Eastern languages and is an avid fiction reader. He is currently writing articles oriented towards consumers of pharmaceutical products.
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