A study that was conducted at the University of Barcelona found that organically grown tomatoes have a higher level of phenolic compounds than those grown conventionally.The Phenolics compounds are organic molecules that are naturally found in many plants and have been shown to have a beneficial effect on human health.
Previously, this research team, the Research Group on Natural Antioxidants UB, which Professor Rosa M. Lamuela directs, had already shown that the polyphenol content was higher in tomato juices and in organic ketchups than conventional ones. Lamuela says it should be borne in mind that during the processing of ketchups and juices, polyphenols increase, therefore, they had to check that the origin of the differences observed in previous studies was in the tomatoes and not the technology used in industrial processing. As the researcher explained, "you have to verify by taking the raw matter."
The polyphenols, natural antioxidants of plant origin, have great nutritional interest since consumption has been associated with the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, degenerative diseases and cancer. For this study, the team used a variety of tomato called Daniela and its phenolic profile has been determined by
liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Thanks to this method, the UB group has been able to identify 34 different phenolic compounds in tomatoes. As explained by Rose M. Lamuela, "the advantage of taking polyphenols in natural food is that in the food there is great variety of these molecules and among them, they are enhanced." This would be more beneficial to health than administering isolated
phenolic compounds in supplement form. It should be noted that tomatoes also have
lycopene and other carotenoids, and vitamin C. Therefore, according to the researcher, "they are like a pack of beneficial compounds."
Source: Universidad de Barcelona