Solanum lycopersicum, a Reservoir of Antioxidants

The color of tomato fruit is mainly determined by carotenoids and flavonoids. Phenotypic analysis of an introgression line (IL) population derived from a cross between Solanum lycopersicum 'Moneyberg' and the wild species Solanum chmielewskii revealed three ILs with a pink fruit color. These lines had a homozygous S. chmielewskii introgression on the short arm of chromosome 1, consistent with the position of the y (yellow) mutation known to result in colorless epidermis, and hence pink-colored fruit, when combined with a red flesh. Metabolic analysis showed that pink fruit lack the ripening-dependent accumulation of the yellow-colored flavonoid naringenin chalcone in the fruit peel, while carotenoid levels are not affected. The expression of all genes encoding biosynthetic enzymes involved in the production of the flavonol rutin from naringenin chalcone was down-regulated in pink fruit, suggesting that the candidate gene underlying the pink phenotype encodes a regulatory protein such as a transcription factor rather than a biosynthetic enzyme. Of 26 MYB and basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors putatively involved in regulating transcription of genes in the phenylpropanoid and/or flavonoid pathway, only the expression level of the MYB12 gene correlated well with the decrease in the expression of structural flavonoid genes in peel samples of pink- and red-fruited genotypes during ripening. Genetic mapping and segregation analysis showed that MYB12 is located on chromosome 1 and segregates perfectly with the characteristic pink fruit color. Virus-induced gene silencing of SlMYB12 resulted in a decrease in the accumulation of naringenin chalcone, a phenotype consistent with the pink-colored tomato fruit of IL1b. In conclusion, biochemical and molecular data, gene mapping, segregation analysis, and virus-induced gene silencing experiments demonstrate that the MYB12 transcription factor plays an important role in regulating the flavonoid pathway in tomato fruit and suggest strongly that SlMYB12 is a likely candidate for the y mutation.

This study was conducted to determine the differences in bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity according to the ripening stage of tomato fruits with different skin colors.The tomato samples used three tomato cultivars distinguished by their skin colors as yellow, black, and red at the mature stage.Tomato samples were analyzed for soluble sugars, lycopene, ascorbic acid, polyphenols, and antioxidant activity after being harvested at green, breaker, turning, and mature.The major sugars in tomato fruits are fructose and glucose.The content of fructose and glucose in yellow tomatoes gradually increased during the ripening stages.However, red and black tomatoes, their levels exhibited an initial increase at the breaker points, followed by a period of relative constancy.The lycopene contents in fruits of all skin colors showed a significant increase during ripening stages.The highest content of lycopene was observed at the mature stage in red tomato fruits.Differential patterns in the accumulation of ascorbic acid between yellow and black or red tomato fruits were detected during the entire ripening stages.In yellow tomato fruit, the content of ascorbic acid remained consistently low throughout the ripening stages.Ascorbic acid content in black tomato fruits significantly increased to 2,249 mgkg -1 of tomato fruits at the mature stage, while in red tomato fruits, it gradually increased to 3,529 mgkg -1 of fruits at the mature stage.Quercitrin content in tomato fruits gradually decreased during the ripening stages.In yellow tomato fruits, the ABTS radical scavenging activity abruptly increased at the turning stages, while in black and red tomato fruits, it gradually increased according to the ripening stages.The DPPH radical scavenging activity in tomato fruits significantly increased at the turning stages.

Selenium (Se) is a nutrient whose daily intake is often below the recommended levels in people. Biofortification with Se is a method to increase this intake by raising the Se concentration in tomato fruits, an effect dependent on sources and modes of application. Additionally, Se application can promote the enhancement of other compounds in tomato fruits, altering their metabolism, which may increase the fruit's shelf life. This study aimed to determine how different strategies of applying a multi-nutrient fertilizer containing Se (SeMNF) can increase the Se content and other bioactive compounds and enhance the shelf life of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruits. Different foliar fertilization strategies involving the use of SeMNF were evaluated in field trials conducted on commercial tomato crops. Indeterminate-growth tomatoes were used, and different Se doses and application strategies were tested. Harvesting was conducted in three phases according to fruit ripening. Each harvested fruit was assessed for the Se content, macro and micronutrients, total phenolic compounds, vitamin C, antioxidant activity, carotenoids, pH, total titratable acidity, and total soluble solids in tomato fruits. Doses of 15 g ha-1 of Se, split into three applications, increased the Se content in the fruits at 1 and 2 harvests. The application of SeMNF at Se doses above 10 g of Se ha-1 increased firmness, days of ripening, and the nutritional quality of the tomatoes (higher contents of carotenoids (+39%), lycopene (+33%), antioxidant activity (+16%), total phenolic compounds (+38%), and vitamin C (+14%) in a dose-dependent effect of the application strategy used. These results contributed to an increase in the shelf life of tomatoes, consequently reducing food waste.

This study aimed to investigate the combined effects of temperature and light conditions on tomato maturation. Tomato fruits that had completed volumetric growth at the mature green stage were harvested and matured in growth chambers composed of two temperature conditions (daytime–nighttime: 30–20 °C or 20–15 °C) and two light conditions (0 µmol·m−2·s−1 or 400 µmol·m−2·s−1), which were set for 12 h each day and night. Our findings indicate that tomato ripening was significantly influenced by both light and temperature. Tomatoes that matured under low-temperature conditions in the absence of light took more than three times longer to transition from the green stage to the breaker stage compared to those matured under high-temperature conditions with light exposure. Notably, tomato fruit maturation occurred at a faster rate under low-temperature and light conditions than under high-temperature and dark conditions. Changes in chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters were observed throughout the ripening process of tomato fruits. Tomato fruits ripened under low-temperature and dark conditions exhibited significantly lower NPQ (non-photochemical quenching) and RFD (relative fluorescence decrease) values compared to other treatments, while their FO (initial fluorescence) and FM (maximum fluorescence) values were higher. The accumulation of sugar in tomato fruits was observed to be more influenced by light than temperature. On the other hand, the highest levels of phenolic content and lycopene were observed in tomato fruits matured under high-temperature and light conditions. Antioxidant activities, as measured by ABTS and DPPH assays, were highest in mature tomato fruits under high-temperature and light conditions, while they were lowest in fruits under low-temperature and dark conditions. In conclusion, this study highlights the critical role of temperature and light as crucial environmental factors influencing tomato maturation. Understanding these factors can contribute to optimizing postharvest conditions and enhancing fruit quality in the tomato industry.

In the complex environment of the tomato greenhouse, many branches may cast a shadow over tomato fruits, and fruit overlap can occur. Traditional models have demonstrated insufficient accuracy in identifying the ripening stage of tomatoes and detecting small targets among fruit stems; to alleviate this issue, in this study, we propose a tomato ripeness identification and fruit stem detection model: CEVM-YOLOv8. This model enhances the capture of small targets among fruit stems by introducing the EfficientVMamba module to replace CSPDarknet53 within YOLOv8's backbone network. The CBAM attention mechanism is then introduced to enhance the model's ability to extract features from tomatoes at different stages of ripeness. Finally, the MPDIoU loss function is used to optimize the prediction framework's localization accuracy and convergence speed. The experimental results show that the CEVM-YOLOv8 model improves the mean accuracy (mAP) (at a 0.5 threshold), precision, recall, and F1 score with which tomatoes of different ripeness are identified in complex environments; these factors improved by 1.7%, 4.7%, 2.3%, and 3.6%, respectively, relative to the original YOLOv8n model. The detection of fruit stems was improved by 5.9%, 4.3%, 12.3%, and 8.4%. The CEVM-YOLOv8 improved the recognition of all labels from a combined 2.8%, 4.6%, 4.9%, and 4.8% to 94.3%, 89.5%, 92.5%, and 91.0%. This study demonstrates the ability of the CEVM-YOLOv8 model to recognize tomatoes of different ripeness levels and to accurately identify fruit stems within complex environments, thereby providing a more effective method for automatic tomato picking.

Salt stress improves the quality of tomato fruits. To clarify the mechanism(s) underlying this phenomenon, we investigated metabolic alterations in tomato fruits exposed to 160 mM salt, focusing on metabolism of organic acids related to the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Quantitative analyses revealed that most amino acids increased in response to salt stress throughout fruit development, and the effect of the stress was greater in the pericarp than in the columella, whereas organic acids did not show a remarkable tendency to salt stress. The transcript levels of 20 genes encoding enzymes of the TCA cycle and peripheral pathways were also analyzed in salt-stressed fruit. Genes responsive to salt stress could be categorized into two types, which were expressed during early development or ripening stages. During fruit development, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase 2 and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase displayed contrasting expression patterns between early development and ripening, suggesting a switch of carbohydrate metabolism after the turning stage. Our results revealed a new metabolic pathway for GABA during the development of tomato fruits. At the start of ripening, GABA is first converted to malate via succinate semialdehyde, and it passes into a shunt through pyruvate. Then, it flows back to the TCA cycle and is stored as citrate, which contributes as a substrate for respiration during fruit maturation.

Antioxidant capacity, antioxidant compounds and antioxidant enzyme activities in five date cultivars during development and ripening

Estimation of fruit quality parameters are usually based on destructive techniques which are tedious, costly and unreliable when dealing with huge amounts of fruits. Alternatively, non-destructive techniques such as image processing and spectral reflectance would be useful in rapid detection of fruit quality parameters. This research study aimed to assess the potential of image processing, spectral reflectance indices (SRIs), and machine learning models such as decision tree (DT) and random forest (RF) to qualitatively estimate characteristics of mandarin and tomato fruits at different ripening stages. Quality parameters such as chlorophyll a (Chl a), chlorophyll b (Chl b), total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), TSS/TA, carotenoids (car), lycopene and firmness were measured. The results showed that Red-Blue-Green (RGB) indices and newly developed SRIs demonstrated high efficiency for quantifying different fruit properties. For example, the R2 of the relationships between all RGB indices (RGBI) and measured parameters varied between 0.62 and 0.96 for mandarin and varied between 0.29 and 0.90 for tomato. The RGBI such as visible atmospheric resistant index (VARI) and normalized red (Rn) presented the highest R2 = 0.96 with car of mandarin fruits. While excess red vegetation index (ExR) presented the highest R2 = 0.84 with car of tomato fruits. The SRIs such as RSI 710,600, and R730,650 showed the greatest R2 values with respect to Chl a (R2 = 0.80) for mandarin fruits while the GI had the greatest R2 with Chl a (R2 = 0.68) for tomato fruits. Combining RGB and SRIs with DT and RF models would be a robust strategy for estimating eight observed variables associated with reasonable accuracy. Regarding mandarin fruits, in the task of predicting Chl a, the DT-2HV model delivered exceptional results, registering an R2 of 0.993 with an RMSE of 0.149 for the training set, and an R2 of 0.991 with an RMSE of 0.114 for the validation set. As well as for tomato fruits, the DT-5HV model demonstrated exemplary performance in the Chl a prediction, achieving an R2 of 0.905 and an RMSE of 0.077 for the training dataset, and an R2 of 0.785 with an RMSE of 0.077 for the validation dataset. The overall outcomes showed that the RGB, newly SRIs as well as DT and RF based RGBI, and SRIs could be used to evaluate the measured parameters of mandarin and tomato fruits.

During ancient times, naturally occurring herbs were a remedy for various ailments in the human body. The deciduous trees of Terminalia species are native to south Asia to southeast China, known as black-chebulic myrobalan. Parts of Terminalia chebula are comprehensively used as medicinal properties. Antioxidants play a noteworthy role by hindering the oxidation reaction, which prompts neurodegenerative disorders in humans. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities originate from plants. T. chebula has lavish phytochemical properties such as tannins, flavones, essential oils, and phenolic compounds, which give rise to countless possessions like anticancer, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activity. The antioxidative capacity of T. chebula fruit aqueous extracts have been assessed using the DPPH scrutiny. The purpose of the study is to get an aqueous extract of T. chebula that contains anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds. The concentrations were measured by using absorbance at wavelength 517 nm. The aqueous extracts of T. chebula fruits were considered with a 10 to 50 mL range (5 concentrations). Using %inhibition, 55% at the lowest concentration (10 μL) and 84% at high concentration (50 μL) shows antioxidant activity. The active extracts of T. chebula fruits demonstrate the anti-inflammatory effects of using BSA as a reagent. This assay measured the activity using 5 concentrations (10–50 mL). 75% at 10 μL and 90% at 50 μL concentration attained the anti-inflammatory activity. The study exhibits that the higher the concentration, the higher the activity. The extraction of these active compounds has active principles and novel research activities on anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties..

Potential elicitors on secondary metabolite production and antioxidant defence activity of two tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) varieties

Tomato fruit colors are directly associated with their appearance quality and nutritional value. However, tomato fruit color formation is an intricate biological process that remains elusive. In this work we characterized a tomato yellow fruited tomato 3 (yft3, e9292, Solanum lycopersicum) mutant with yellow fruits. By the map-based cloning approach, we identified a transversion mutation (A2117C) in the YFT3 gene encoding a putative isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (SlIDI1) enzyme, which may function in the isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway by catalyzing conversion between isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP). The mutated YFT3 (A2117C) (designated YFT3 allele) and the YFT3 genes did not show expression difference at protein level, and their encoded YFT3 allelic (S126R) and YFT3 proteins were both localized in plastids. However, the transcript levels of eight genes (DXR, DXS, HDR, PSY1, CRTISO, CYCB, CYP97A, and NCED) associated with carotenoid synthesis were upregulated in fruits of both yft3 and YFT3 knockout (YFT3-KO) lines at 35 and 47days post-anthesis compared with the red-fruit tomato cultivar (M82). In vitro and in vivo biochemical analyses indicated that YFT3 (S126R) possessed much lower enzymatic activities than the YFT3 protein, indicating that the S126R mutation can impair YFT3 activity. Molecular docking analysis showed that the YFT3 allele has higher ability to recruit isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP), but abolishes attachment of the Mg2+ cofactor to IPP, suggesting that Ser126 is a critical residue for YTF3 biochemical and physiological functions. As a result, the yft3 mutant tomato line has low carotenoid accumulation and abnormal chromoplast development, which results in yellow ripe fruits. This study provides new insights into molecular mechanisms of tomato fruit color formation and development.

This study investigated the chemical composition (proximate composition, fatty acids, minerals, and phenolic compounds), antioxidant activity, and antimicrobial activity of galangal rhizomes. The rhizomes contain appreciable amounts of ash (5.38%), protein (5.86%), carbohydrate (81.13%), potassium (159.79 mg/kg), calcium (25.7 mg/kg), phosphorous (17.36 mg/kg), magnesium (15.57 mg/kg), iron (7.2 mg/kg) and manganese (3.82 mg/kg). Galangal rhizome oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids (91.8%), elaidic (67.82%), linoleic (22.56%), palmitic (5.18%), and stearic (2.26%) acids found as the main fatty acids in the oil. Galangal rhizome extract contains substantial amounts of total phenolic content (53.18 mg GAE/g), total flavonoid content (14.12 mg CE/g), gallic acid (160.04 mg/100 g), (+)-catechin (124.33 mg/100 g), quercetin (105.34 mg/100 g), catechol (100.18 mg/100 g), isorhamnetin (82.2 mg/100 g), trans-cinnamic acid (81.97 mg/100 g) and protocatechuic acid (71.46 mg/100 g). The extract of galangal rhizomes also possessed high antioxidant activity, as assessed by DPPH (77.76%), ABTS (8.66 mmol TE/g), and FRAP (3.99 mmol TE/g), as well as antimicrobial activity against ten Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria. In conclusion, Galangal is a rich source of nutrients and phytochemicals and exhibits antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.

Fruits and vegetables are a rich sources of different nutrients, pigments, secondary metabolites and other nutritional components which are beneficial and fundamental components for human health. In recent years, the consumption of coloured fruits and vegetables has increased significantly due to their superior nutritional characteristics. In this context, purple tomato is now gaining importance due to the high content of the pigment anthocyanins. This article provides knowledge on 1) Tomato in general and anthocyanin-rich purple tomato, 2) Benefits of anthocyanins in plants and human diet, 3) Strategies for development of purple tomato, 4) Better postharvest life of purple tomatoes, 5) Purple tomato in India and 6) Health benefits of purple tomato. Purple tomato fruits provide higher nutraceutical value as compared to the classical red tomato as it combines the health benefits of the anthocyanins along with other usual and known phytochemicals as already present in tomato fruit. Due to higher anthocyanins and antioxidative properties, purple tomatoes possess anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-cancerous, cardio-protective, hepto-protective and neuroprotective effects. Regular consumption of purple tomatoes has also been found effective in the prevention of certain chronic diseases of humans as well. The use of conventional breeding and modern transgenic approach is paving the way for higher anthocyanin and other nutraceuticals in tomato fruits. Higher anthocyanin content has also imparted enhanced shelf-life and better storability to purple tomatoes. In the coming time, the availability and popularity of purple tomatoes in India will be beneficial for farmers, processing industries and human health. This will also serve as another step forward towards attaining nutritional security.

X-ray micro-CT based computation of effective diffusivity of metabolic gases in tomato fruit

The D-mannose/L-galactose pathway for the biosynthesis of vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid; AsA) has greatly improved the understanding of this indispensable compound in plants, where it plays multifunctional roles. However, it is yet to be proven whether the same pathway holds for all the different organs of plants, especially the fruit-bearing plants, at different stages of development. Micro-Tom was used here to elucidate the mechanisms of AsA accumulation and regulation in tomato fruits. The mRNA expression of the genes in the D-mannose/L-galactose pathway were inversely correlated with increasing AsA content of Micro-Tom fruits during ripening. Feeding L-[6-14C]AsA to Micro-Tom plants revealed that the bulk of the label from AsA accumulated in the source leaf was transported to the immature green fruits, and the rate of translocation decreased as ripening progressed. L-Galactose feeding, but neither D-galacturonate nor L-gulono-1,4-lactone, enhanced the content of AsA in immature green fruit. On the other hand, L-galactose and D-galacturonate, but not L-gulono-1,4-lactone, resulted in an increase in the AsA content of red ripened fruits. Crude extract prepared from insoluble fractions of green and red fruits showed D-galacturonate reductase- and aldonolactonase-specific activities, the antepenultimate and penultimate enzymes, respectively, in the D-galacturonate pathway, in both fruits. Taken together, the present findings demonstrated that tomato fruits could switch between different sources for AsA supply depending on their ripening stages. The translocation from source leaves and biosynthesis via the D-mannose/L-galactose pathway are dominant sources in immature fruits, while the alternative D-galacturonate pathway contributes to AsA accumulation in ripened Micro-Tom fruits.