Posted on 12/30/2022 12:10:34 PM PST by Red Badger
The researchers discovered that young pigs that ate a diet high in tomatoes for two weeks had an increase in the diversity of their gut microbes and a shift in their gut bacteria towards a more favorable profile.
According to researchers, the favorable results obtained from studies on pigs warrant further investigation in human subjects. According to researchers, a diet heavy in tomatoes for two weeks led to an increase in the diversity of gut microbes and a change in gut bacteria towards a more favorable profile in young pigs.
Based on these findings from a short-term intervention, the research team plans to conduct similar studies in humans to explore the potential health-related connections between consuming tomatoes and changes to the human gut microbiome.
“It’s possible that tomatoes impart benefits through their modulation of the gut microbiome,” said senior author Jessica Cooperstone, assistant professor of horticulture and crop science and food science and technology at The Ohio State University.
“Overall dietary patterns have been associated with differences in microbiome composition, but food-specific effects haven’t been studied very much,” Cooperstone said. “Ultimately we’d like to identify in humans what the role is of these particular microorganisms and how they might be contributing to potential health outcomes.”
The research was recently published in the journal Microbiology Spectrum.
The tomatoes used in the study were developed by Ohio State plant breeder, tomato geneticist, and co-author David Francis, and are the type typically found in canned tomato products.
Ten recently weaned control pigs were fed a standard diet and 10 pigs were fed the standard diet fine-tuned so that 10% of the food consisted of a freeze-dried powder made from the tomatoes.
Fiber, sugar, protein, fat, and calories were identical for both diets. The control and study pig populations lived separately, and researchers running the study minimized their time spent with the pigs – a series of precautions designed to ensure that any microbiome changes seen with the study diet could be attributed to chemical compounds in the tomatoes.
Microbial communities in the pigs’ guts were detected in fecal samples taken before the study began and then seven and 14 days after the diet was introduced.
The team used a technique called shotgun metagenomics to sequence all microbial DNA present in the samples. Results showed two main changes in the microbiomes of pigs fed the tomato-heavy diet – the diversity of microbe species in their guts increased, and the concentrations of two types of bacteria common in the mammal microbiome shifted to a more favorable profile.
This higher ratio of the phyla Bacteroidota (formerly known as Bacteriodetes) compared to Bacillota (formerly known as Firmicutes) present in the microbiome has been found to be linked with positive health outcomes, while other studies have linked this ratio in reverse, of higher Bacillota compared to Bacteroidota, to obesity.
Tomatoes account for about 22% of vegetable intake in Western diets, and previous research has associated the consumption of tomatoes with reduced risk for the development of various conditions that include cardiovascular disease and some cancers.
But tomatoes’ impact on the gut microbiome is still a mystery, and Cooperstone said these findings in pigs – whose gastrointestinal tract is more similar than rodents’ to the human GI system – suggest it’s an avenue worth exploring.
“This was our first investigation as to how tomato consumption might affect the microbiome, and we’ve characterized which microbes are present, and how their relative abundance has changed with this tomato intervention,” she said.
“To really understand the mechanisms, we need to do more of this kind of work in the long term in humans. We also want to understand the complex interplay – how does consuming these foods change the composition of what microbes are present, and functionally, what does that do?
“A better understanding could lead to more evidence-based dietary recommendations for long-term health.”
Reference:
“Short-Term Tomato Consumption Alters the Pig Gut Microbiome toward a More Favorable Profile” by Mallory L. Goggans, Emma A. Bilbrey, Cristian D. Quiroz-Moreno, David M. Francis, Sheila K. Jacobi, Jasna Kovac and Jessica L. Cooperstone, 8 November 2022, Microbiology Spectrum.
DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02506-22
The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, and the Foods for Health initiative at Ohio State.
Tomato Ping!..................
An Italian apple day keeps the doctor away.
luv maters
but the stuff that they sell as tomatoes in the grocery store is a crime
Absolutely. There are some, including the renowned Dr. Gundry, who consider tomatoes, a member of the nightshade family, seriously bad for you.
I’m not sure about gut health, but they sure do improve the flavor of toast, bacon, lettuce and mayo! Especially taken all at once.
Tomatoes are too acidic. As much as I’ve loved tomatoes the doctor said stop eating them.
shifted to a more favorable profile.
So how do you know what a more favorable pig microbe profile is?
That said, this paisano must have gut microbes that sing Verdi...
Tomato flu has broken out in India.
I miss my homegrown tomatoes from last summer. When I don’t have homegrown I usually buy Roma tomatoes because they seem to be reliable and relatively inexpensive. I do eat a lot of tomatoes plus canned tomatoes in soup etc.
Potatoes and eggplants are also nightshades. Try a grilled tomato half on your breakfast plate. Yummy.
My problem is gout is supposedly worse when consuming tomatoes. My off and on gout attacks don’t seem to be triggered by anything but big storms coming through.
A shame because I love tomatoes in all forms. Many times the gout isn’t triggered so I get to have some.
Eating fresh, homegrown tomatoes improves your life in general!
Bkmk
I think some people are sensitive to something in nightshade, but not all people. Several years ago I read nightshade can cause leg pain and stiffness in people, so I stopped eating them and within three weeks, my pain had ended.
There are times when by mistake I eat something that turns out to have nightshade (usually paprika or red pepper flakes) and the pain comes right back.
However, most people I know do not have this problem, so I think it is an individual thing.
And it is **** such **** a problem! So many foods have nightshade, and I really love potatoes and peppers!
The tomatoes were ultimately not that good for the pigs, who probably were slaughtered after the experiment.
A round slice of beefsteak tomato, with a round slice of Florida orange layered on top, smothered with thick melty mozzarella. Yum.
Check iron is good
Q: What is the best way to fix a broken tomato?
A: With tomato paste.
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