Author : Haroon Rasheed, Aurida Javed, Ayesha Haroon and Somavia Ameen

Bioactive compounds are the constituents of foods, especially functional foods that provide beneficial health properties. For example, these benefits include antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and various additional preventative properties, which illustrates how bioactive compounds are the real-life example of Hippocrates’ notion “let thy food be thy medicine”. Originally, many definitions of functional foods neglected to acknowledge the importance of bioactive compounds. Many of these compounds have antioxidant activities and are effective in protecting the human body against various oxidative stress-related diseases. Dietary tomatoes increase the body’s level of antioxidants, trapping reactive oxygen species and reducing oxidative damage to important biomolecules such as membrane lipids, enzymatic proteins and DNA, thereby ameliorating oxidative stress. We reviewed the nutritional and phytochemical compositions of tomatoes. In addition, the impacts of the constituents on human health, particularly in ameliorating some degenerative diseases, are also discussed. Moreover, tomato and its bioactive components hold potential to become effective modules in diet-based regimens; however, integrated research and meta-analysis are still required to enhance meticulousness.

Keywords: Tomato, Bioactive compounds, antioxidants, Health benefits, metabolism and absorption.