Antioxidant Compounds Studies in Different Tomato Cultivars.

In this chapter is illustrated the determination of the antioxidant activity of hydrophilic and lipophilic fractions of nine different cultivars of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). To assess the nutritional value of all varieties, the total content of principal carotenoids, lycopene and b-carotene was analysed. The antioxidant activity was determined by DMPD and ABTS methods for hydrophilic and lipophilic fractions, respectively. It has been verified that there is no correlation between high concentration of Iycopene and b-carotene and total antioxidant activity. It is reasonable to suppose, indeed, that the total antioxidant activity may be due to synergistic action of different bioactive compounds. Additionally, cytotoxic activity was determined by brine shrimps test on all lipophilic extracts to evaluate potential anti-tumoral activity.