Scientists have discovered the unexpected properties of tomato juice: it saves you from a dangerous disease

It’s no coincidence that people love tomato juice: on planes, as you know, it runs out first. But it is not only tasty, but also extremely healthy. And it’s not just the vitamins and antioxidants it contains.

According to a study published in the journal of the American Society of Microbiology, Microbiology Spectrum, tomato juice can kill a number of dangerous intestinal infections and urinary tract pathogens – including Salmonella Typhi, the deadly bacterium that causes typhoid fever.

Tomatoes are readily available vegetables that offer a range of health benefits due to their antioxidant and antimicrobial content. The nutritional composition of tomatoes, including the abundance of beneficial compounds such as lycopene, polyphenols and vitamins, has been extensively studied. But unlike tomatoes’ widely recognized antioxidant properties, their antimicrobial properties remain largely unexplored. In the latest work, scientists tried to fill this gap by studying antimicrobial peptides of tomato origin – and were amazed by the results.

“Our main goal in this study was to find out whether tomatoes and tomato juice can kill intestinal pathogens, including Salmonella Typhi, and if so, what qualities they have that make them work,” said Assoc. Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Cornell University, who led the team of scientists, Chongmin Song.

Salmonella Typhi is the causative agent of typhoid fever, recognized as the main cause of death from intestinal pathogenic infections. There are 21 million cases of typhoid fever each year, killing 200,000 people worldwide. Despite the availability of typhoid vaccines, many developing countries continue to face serious barriers to accessing these vital resources. In addition, the infection has become highly resistant to antibiotics.

First, the researchers tested in the laboratory whether tomato juice actually killed Salmonella Typhi. Convinced that this was the case, the team studied the tomato genome in order to find antimicrobial peptides in it. Antimicrobial peptides are very small proteins that damage the bacterial membrane that keeps microbes intact. The researchers selected four possible antimicrobial peptides and tested how well they worked against Salmonella Typhi: two of them were highly effective.

The research team also conducted computer analysis to learn more about how the antibacterial peptides kill Salmonella Typhi. Finally, they looked at how well tomato juice worked against other intestinal pathogens that can harm digestive and urinary tract health. The most significant discovery was that tomato juice effectively kills Salmonella Typhi, its hypervirulent variants and other bacteria that can harm the health of the digestive and urinary tract. Tomato juice has also demonstrated effectiveness against uropathogenic Escherichia coli. It turned out that two antimicrobial peptides under study can destroy these pathogens by damaging the bacterial membrane – the protective layer surrounding the pathogen. “Our research shows that tomatoes and tomato juice help completely get rid of dangerous intestinal bacteria,” said Jongmin Song.

The researchers said they hope that when the general public, especially children and teenagers, learn about the study’s findings, they will want to eat more tomatoes, as well as other fruits and vegetables, as they provide natural antibacterial benefits to consumers.

However, there is a downside to the coin. Former director of the National Cancer Institute of France, professor at the University of Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris, honorary foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences David Khayat, who recently visited Moscow, told the MK observer that every vegetable and fruit is good in season: “One of the main principles of the diet, if you want to avoid cancer, follow the seasonality. For example, no tomatoes in winter. No oranges in summer – they pose a risk of melanoma. Orange juice contains a substance called psoralen, which makes the skin sensitive to carcinogenic UV radiation from the sun when exposed to photons. Our grandparents only drank orange juice during the winter season, now it is available at any time of the year and this is a dangerous trend. After all, melanoma is a very aggressive type of skin cancer.”

So fresh tomatoes in season are the main guarantee of health.