Dehydrated tomatoes may help prevent prostate cancer

THRUSDAY June 12, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- A study of rats suggests that men eating a diet with a supplemented tomato compound known as FruHis and tomato paste frequently may significantly reduce their risk of developing prostate cancer.

In the study, Dr. Valeri V. Mossine at the University of Missouri in Columbia and colleagues tested three study diets and one control diet in rats. One study diet was supplemented with tomato powder, one with tomato paste, and the third one with tomato paste and added FruHis, a form of carbohydrate found in dehydrated tomatoes. The control diet was not supplemented with any tomato product.

All animals were treated with chemicals known to cause prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer was found after death in 18 percent of rats fed the diet with tomato paste plus FruHis. In comparison, tumors were found in 43 percent of rats fed the diet with tomato powder, 39 percent of those fed the diet with standard tomato paste, and 63 percent in the control group.

According to Mossine, cited by Reuters, FruHis may act as an antioxidant to prevent oxidative damage that could otherwise lead to cancer. Fruhis plus lycopene-loaded tomato paste kills prostate cancer cells.

By David Liu, Ph.D., and edited by Heather Kelley.
Jun 12, 2008 - 10:16:29 AM