Development of foods with function claims based on the health benefits of tomato-derived nutrients

In April 2015, a new food labeling system known as "Foods with Function Claims" was launched in Japan. Under this system, industries and farmers can attach health claims to products based on scientific evidence. Lycopene (a red pigment in tomato) and.-aminobutyric acid (GABA) (one of the major amino acids in tomato) are known as representative beneficial nutrients in tomato. We evaluated scientific evidence on these two nutrients by systematic review (SR) and tried to develop foods with function claims based on those evidence. Recent human-intervention studies have suggested that tomato supplementation can significantly reduce blood levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) and/or increase blood levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc). Therefore, we evaluated the association between tomatoes and/or lycopene consumptions and blood levels of lipids by SR including meta-analysis and concluded that intake of 15 mg lycopene day(-1) from processed tomato products for 8 weeks can increase blood levels of HDLc. Previous in vitro studies suggest that increase of the lecithin cholesterol acyl transferase activity and/or inhibition of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase activity are involved in the mechanisms. GABA has been reported to lower blood pressure by activating GABA receptor and inhibiting release of noradrenaline. Our meta-analysis of association between tomatoes and/or GABA consumptions and blood pressure showed that GABA lowered systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP, respectively) in subjects with high-normal blood pressure or grade I hypertension. We concluded that intake of 12.3 mg GABA day(-1) for 12 weeks can lower SBP and DBP in those subjects. Based on these results of SR, we achieved health claims on tomato-related products such as tomato juice, vegetable juice, and fresh tomatoes. Through these foods with function claims, we will continue to inform the importance of eating tomato.