Scientists from Cornell University in the USA discovered that tomato juice can destroy intestinal pathogens such as salmonella. Research results published In the journal Microbiology Spectrum.
Salmonella Typhi, or typhoid bacillus, is a bacterium that is the causative agent of typhoid fever, an acute cyclical intestinal infection. A study by American scientists showed that this bacterium can be destroyed by antimicrobial peptides found in tomato juice. Antimicrobial peptides are small protein molecules that can destroy bacterial membranes.
By examining the tomato genome, researchers identified four possible antimicrobial peptides. It turns out that two of these can actually kill Salmonella Typhi. As an experiment, scientists took Campari tomatoes, crushed them, and strained the resulting soil. Salmonella Typhi samples were then exposed to the mixture.
Two hours later, a visible decrease in the number of microbial cells was seen in the container to which tomato juice was added. This did not occur in a “control” plate containing Salmonella Typhi bacteria pretreated with saline solution. It was also noted that Salmonella Typhi on the first plate continued to be effectively killed for the next 24 hours.
Scientists found that tomato juice can cause the destruction of membranes and other pathogenic bacteria such as S. Typhimurium and E. coli. Researchers emphasized that tomatoes can provide important benefits to the body and can be part of new nutritional strategies to improve public health.
Previous scientists listed Useful properties of fermented foods.