Tomato juice can kill the bacteria Salmonella Typhi – a potentially deadly pathogen that causes typhoid fever – and more bacteria that affect the human gastrointestinal and urinary systemaccording to a new study published in the scientific journal “Microbiology Spectrum” of the American Society for Microbiology.
The… red antimicrobial properties
“Our main goal in this study was to find out whether tomato and tomato juice can kill gut pathogens, including Salmonella Typhi and, if so, what are their properties that make them effective,” noted lead author researcher behind the new study Jeongming Songassociate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Cornell University.
The tomato genome
Initially, the researchers examined in the context of laboratory experiments whether tomato juice really eradicates Salmonella Typhi. Once they confirmed its… exterminating properties, they analyzed the tomato genome to discover the antimicrobial peptides involved in the process. Antimicrobial peptides are very small proteins that interfere with the bacterial membrane and disrupt its function, causing the bacteria to die.
The scientists eventually selected four potential antimicrobial peptides and tested their activity against Salmonella Typhi. They eventually came up with two such peptides that were effective against the dangerous bacterium.
Salmonella and typhoid fever
They then conducted further experiments on variants of Salmonella Typhi that occur in areas where typhoid fever is common. They also conducted a computational study to find out more about how the antibacterial peptides kill this particular bacterium and other gut and urinary tract pathogens.
The two antimicrobial peptides
As the scientists saw through all these experiments, tomato juice was effective in exterminating Salmonella Typhi, its variants and other bacteria that affect the intestine and urinary system. Specifically, two antimicrobial peptides contained in tomato juice were its antibacterial “weapons” which destroyed the bacterial membrane that surrounds the pathogens, ultimately leading to their death.
Eat tomatoes, drink their juice
“Our findings show that tomato and tomato juice can defeat intestinal bacteria such as salmonella,” noted Dr. Song and concluded by emphasizing that both she and her team hope that the new findings will push the general population, especially children and teenagers to consume more tomatoes and their juice as well as other vegetables and fruits, since they are proven to have very important antibacterial properties.
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