These high-lycopene tomatoes used to make the juice were developed by study co-author David Francis, an Ohio State expert in tomato breeding and genetics.
Photo Credit: The Ohio State University
Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: Tomato-Soy Juice and Systemic Inflammation
The Core Concept: A specialized functional food intervention combining high-lycopene tomato juice and soy isoflavone extract has been shown to significantly lower pro-inflammatory proteins in healthy adults with obesity.
Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike generic tomato juice, this specially bred and formulated beverage leverages a concentrated combination of plant-based phytochemicals (lycopene and soy isoflavones) to actively reduce blood levels of specific cytokines, including Interleukin-5 (IL-5), Interleukin-12p70 (IL-12p70), and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF).
Origin/History: The high-lycopene tomatoes were originally developed by Ohio State University researchers for prostate cancer studies. A recent four-week clinical trial published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research established the combined juice's broader anti-inflammatory efficacy in humans.
Major Frameworks/Components:
- Lycopene: A carotenoid phytochemical responsible for the red color in tomatoes, noted for its strong antioxidant properties.
- Soy Isoflavones: Plant-derived flavonoids that mimic the action of the hormone estrogen, utilized for their anti-inflammatory capabilities.
- Cytokines: Pro-inflammatory proteins produced by the immune system that serve as trackable markers of systemic inflammation.
- Metabolomics: The analysis of molecular products (metabolites) in urine to confirm and track biological changes driven by the nutritional intervention.
Branch of Science: Nutritional Science, Molecular Biology, and Agricultural Science.
Future Application: The juice formulation is currently transitioning into a federally funded pilot clinical trial to test its efficacy as a dietary intervention to reduce inflammation and improve the quality of life for patients suffering from pancreatitis.
Why It Matters: Unchecked systemic inflammation is a hallmark of many chronic conditions, including obesity. This research demonstrates how rigorously tested, food-based interventions can serve as viable treatments to modulate human biology and combat chronic illness.
A new study found that drinking tomato-soy juice, loaded with compounds shown in animal studies to promote health, lowered pro-inflammatory proteins in healthy adults with obesity after four weeks.
Researchers note that the findings hint at the juice’s promise as a functional food that may help curb the unchecked inflammation characterizing a range of chronic conditions.
The tomato-soy juice contained high levels of the plant-based compounds lycopene and soy isoflavones, both of which are believed to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties based on previous research. Compared with a control tomato juice lacking these compounds, the tomato-soy juice significantly lowered blood levels of three proteins that serve as markers of systemic inflammation.
“The idea is, can we use food-based interventions to modulate inflammation?” said lead author Jessica Cooperstone, associate professor of horticulture and crop science at The Ohio State University. “And can we test this in a rigorous way so that we can really see this is affecting inflammation, versus just saying something is anti-inflammatory?”
Based on these results and additional data, Cooperstone and her colleagues received funding from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for a pilot clinical trial to test whether consuming the same tomato-soy juice reduces inflammation in patients with pancreatitis.
The study was recently published in the journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Research.
Lycopene is a carotenoid that gives tomatoes and other vegetables their color, and soy isoflavones are flavonoids that mimic the action of the hormone estrogen. Both are phytochemicals that help plants thrive.
Years ago, based on studies showing an association between diets high in either tomato products or soy and a lowered risk for prostate cancer, Ohio State researchers developed the tomato-soy juice. This juice is made with tomatoes containing a high concentration of lycopene—also developed and grown at Ohio State—and enriched with soy isoflavone extract.
Later research at the university linked higher intake of the tomato-soy juice to reduced prostate-specific antigen levels in some men with prostate cancer, and studies elsewhere have suggested that tomatoes and soy, consumed separately or combined, can affect inflammatory and metabolic pathways related to obesity and other chronic illnesses.
“There’s been enough compelling evidence that compounds from tomatoes and soy might be modulating inflammation that we decided to test this in people,” Cooperstone said.
In the new study, twelve healthy adults with obesity consumed two six-ounce cans of tomato-soy juice every day for four weeks. After a washout period, they consumed the low-carotenoid control tomato juice for four weeks.
“The hypothesis is that it’s the lycopene from the tomatoes and the isoflavones from the soy that are inducing the effect, so we didn’t want to have a control that’s just water,” Cooperstone said.
Researchers took blood samples testing for cytokines—pro-inflammatory proteins produced by the immune system—before and after each four-week trial period. Only the tomato-soy juice resulted in significant reductions in three cytokines: interleukin-5 (IL-5), IL-12p70, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), as well as showing a downward trend in tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) that was not statistically significant.
The team also analyzed participants’ urine before and after each trial period for changes in metabolites, the molecular products of biochemical reactions that break down nutrients to produce energy and perform other essential functions.
The findings showed that both the tomato-soy and control tomato juices led to some shared changes in the metabolite profiles, meaning some tomato-driven effects occurred in the absence of lycopene. Soy isoflavone metabolite shifts stood out among the changes induced by the tomato-soy juice. While further investigation is warranted, the changes provide additional evidence that this food-based intervention is affecting human biology.
“This is probably a function of the fact that there’s more to our intervention agents than just these two compounds,” Cooperstone said. “Ultimately, we want to have a better understanding of how the foods that we eat are relating to our health. And when we really want to be sure, we need to test them in clinical trials. And that’s what we’re doing here.”
She and her colleagues have also found evidence in an animal model that the tomato-soy juice can reduce inflammation and the severity of chronic pancreatitis—data supporting the prediction in the current clinical trial that the intervention could improve outcomes for patients with pancreatitis.
“Care for patients with pancreatitis is palliative, focused on controlling pain and GI symptoms. Our hypothesis is that the tomato-soy juice may serve as an intervention to decrease inflammation and hopefully increase patients’ quality of life,” Cooperstone said.
Funding: This work was supported by the US Department of Agriculture, the National Institutes of Health, the Lisa and Dan Wampler Endowed Fellowship for Foods and Health Research, and the Foods for Health Initiative at Ohio State.
Published in journal: Molecular Nutrition & Food Research
Title: Tomato-Soy Juice Reduces Inflammation and Modulates the Urinary Metabolome in Adults With Obesity
Authors: Maria J. Sholola, Jenna Miller, Emma A. Bilbrey, Janet A. Novotny, David M. Francis, Thomas A. Mace, and Jessica L. Cooperstone
Source/Credit: Ohio State University | Emily Caldwell
Edited by: Scientific Frontline
Reference Number: nut052626_01
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