Review Article

Improving the nutraceutical content of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) by advanced environmental conditions and agricultural practices

Alia Anwar^1,2,3 Muhammad Ashfaq³, Sadaf habib¹, Muhammad Shafiq Ahmad³, Hafiz Sabah-Ud-Din Mazhar³, Ralf Müller-Xing^1,2, Muhammad Arshad Javed^3*

Adv. life sci., vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 13-22, February 2025
*^- Corresponding Author: Muhammad Arshad Javed (Email: majaved.iags@pu.edu.pk)
Authors' Affiliations

 
[Date Received: 27/01/2023; Date Revised: 16/09/2024; Date Available Online: 31/12/2024]

Editorial Expression of Concern:

18 May 2025: Following publication of this paper, the internal audit (consequent to concerns on quality raised by Web of Science) notified Advancements in Life Sciences about problems in use of references. By this Editorial Expression of Concern, we alert the scientific community of the errors as we address the errors.

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Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Discussion
Conclusion
References 

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Abstract

The consumption of tomatoes has been associated with diminishing the risk of several lethal diseases, e.g., heart attack and cancer. This is because tomato contains high antioxidants that have been shown to protect against oxidative damage in numerous empirical and epidemiological studies. Considering the health benefits, more emphasis should be given to produce organic tomatoes. Tomatoes have been ranked as the most important fruit and vegetable in Western diets as essential source of antioxidants such as lycopene, β-carotene, phenols, vitamin E, and vitamin C. Environmental conditions and agricultural practices are key factors that affect the quantities of these compounds available in tomato. Therefore, controlling the environmental conditions, such as water availability, temperature, light, saline soil, and agricultural practices (fertilization practices, harvesting, and food storage) are valuable tools to enhance the nutritional value of tomato fruits organically. Although, the quantitative and qualitative contents of health-promoting compounds in vegetables and fruits depend on their genetic predispositions. Agricultural practices and different environmental condition have broad effects on the nutraceutical compounds. Thus, this present study emphasizes on enhancing tomato nutrition through improved agricultural practices and optimized farming, especially in saline and water-deficit conditions. This organic-oriented strategy may counteract the scepticism caused by genetically modified tomatoes (GMOs) and will prompt further exploration in future studies.

Keywords: Organic grown tomato; Antioxidants; Nutritional values; Salinity; Water deficit; Temperature; Agricultural practices; Fertilization   

Introduction

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Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) is an economically important crop consumed in both forms, fresh as in salad or processed food such as tomato paste and ketchup. It ranked first among vegetables in terms of cultivated area grown on 4.85 million hectares worldwide annually (FAOSTAT, 2019). The tomato gained in importance worldwide due to its nutraceutical value originating from the high content of carotenoids, such as β-carotene (provitamin), other vitamins such as vitamin C and E, tocopherols, phenolic compounds such as flavonoids and derivatives of hydroxycinnamic acid [1-4]. More importantly, tomato is a rich source of antioxidant that can further categorized into lipophilic (carotenoids and vitamin E) and hydrophilic (vitamin C and phenolic compounds) fractions [5]. Essential nutritional compounds that were identified in tomato puree are listed in (Fig.1, Table 1).The human blood contains an average of 40 different carotenoids with 9–20 of them derived from processed and fresh tomato as the main source of [6]. The major carotenoids are lycopene, &alpha%