Effect of domestic cooking on human bioavailability of naringenin, chlorogenic acid, lycopene and beta-carotene in cherry tomatoes

Background Epidemiologicaldata showed that tomatoand tomato product (sauce, paste)consumption is associated with aprotective effect against the developmentof some chronic-degenerativediseases. Tomato antioxidantbioactive molecules such ascarotenoids and polyphenols couldbe responsible, at least in part, forthe healthy effect observed. Thebioavailability of these compoundsis an essential requirement to sustaintheir in vivo role.While it iswell known that many factors caninfluence the bioaccessibility ofcarotenoids from the food matrix,there is little information about thefactors affecting phenolic compounds’bioaccessibility. Aim of thestudy This investigation was carriedout to evaluate the effect ofdomestic cooking on the bioavailabilityin humans of antioxidantmolecules after the administrationof a test meal containing cherrytomatoes. Methods A cross-over designwas conducted. Subjects (3 femalesand 2 males) consumed experimentalmeals containing freshand cooked cherry tomatoes. Bloodcollection was performed at differenttime intervals (0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and24 h). Results Carotenoid and phenolplasma concentrations weremeasured. Plasma levels of lycopeneand β-carotene were notsignificantly different with respectto the baseline after ingestion ofboth the test meals,while plasmaconcentrations of naringenin andchlorogenic acid increased significantlywith respect to the baseline(P<0.05) after administration ofcooked cherry tomatoes, but notafter administration of fresh cherrytomatoes. Conclusions The presentstudy indicated that domesticallycooked tomatoes significantly increasenaringenin and chlorogenicacid plasma levels. Consideringthat both naringenin and chlorogenicacid are widely studied fortheir potential healthy properties,evidence of their bioavailabilityand of the factors influencing theirbioaccessibility is an importanttool to sustain the possibility thatthese polyphenols play a biologicalrole in human physiology.