Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Tomato extract significantly reduced both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in participating subjects compared to placebo.
High blood pressure is a growing health risk in the United States and most other countries (1). It has recently been identified as the number one burden of death today (2). As high blood pressure increases dramatically with age, and with the number of people age 65 and over continuing to increase, a potential economic burden of high blood pressure looms that is far greater than the $76 billion it currently costs the American healthcare system (3).
While research has found that 30 grams of milled flaxseed per day benefits blood pressure (4), other research (5) has found that tomato extract is beneficial to blood pressure. The study involved 50 subjects (26 men, 24 women) between the ages of 50 and 68 with “moderate” high blood pressure (average = 144/82 mmHg) and taking either 1 or 2 high blood pressure medications. They were given either one capsule of 250 mg tomato extract (each capsule containing 15 mg lycopene (6% total weight), beta-carotene (0.15%), 5 mg vitamin E (2%), phospholipids (15%) and phytosterol (0.6%))or placebo daily for 6 weeks. Blood samples and blood pressures were taken before and after the study. After 6 weeks, the subjects switched treatments for another 6 weeks.
At the end of both treatment periods, the researchers noted “a significant reduction” in both systolic (the top number) and diastolic (the bottom number) blood pressures compared to the placebo group. Specifically, those in the first 6-week tomato extract group saw a 9.4% decrease in systolic blood pressure (145.8 to 132.2 mmHg (p < 0.001)). Those in the second 6-week group saw a 8.4% decrease (140.4 to 128.7 (p < 0.001)). For diastolic blood pressure, those in the first 6-week group saw a 5.2% decline (from 82.1 to 77.9 mmHg (p = 0.001)) while those in the second 6-week group saw a 7.3% decline (from 80.1 to 74.2 mmHg (p = 0.001)). No significant changes were seen for either systolic (p = 0.15) or diastolic (p = 0.22) blood pressure during either treatment period in the placebo group.
When suggesting how tomato extract may help with blood pressure, the researchers pointed to tomatoes as a source of several antioxidant nutrients including lycopene, beta-carotene, folate, potassium, vitamin C, flavonoids, and vitamin E (6), which “may function individually, or together, to protect [blood vessels] from [cell damage], the most widely accepted theory for the genesis of atherosclerosis.”
For the researchers, “Tomato extract when added to patients treated with low doses of [blood pressure medications] had a clinically significant effect—reduction of BP by more than 10 mmHg systolic and more than 5 mmHg diastolic pressure” and that “The significant correlation between systolic blood pressure values and level of lycopene suggest the possibility of cause–effect relationships.”
Source: Paran, Esther, et al. “The effects of natural antioxidants from tomato extract in treated but uncontrolled hypertensive patients.” Cardiovascular Drugs and Therapy 23.2 (2009): 145-151.
© Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2008
Posted November 16, 2015.
Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com.
References:
- Cutler JA, Sorlie PD, Wolz M, Thom T, Fields LE, Roccella EJ. Trends in hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control rates in United States adults between 1988-1994 and 1999-2004. Hypertension. 2008;52:818–827.
- Lim SS, Vos T, Flaxman AD, et al. A comparative risk assessment of burden of disease and injury attributable to 67 risk factors and risk factor clusters in 21 regions, 1990-2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2012;380:2224–2260
- Lloyd-Jones D, Adams RJ, Brown TM, et al; Writing Group Members; American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart disease and stroke statistics–2010 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2010;121:e46–e215
- Rodriguez-Leyva D. Potent Antihypertensive Action of Dietary Flaxseed in Hypertensive Patients. Hypertension 2013 Dec;62(6):1081-9. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.113.02094. Epub 2013 Oct 14
- De Leeuw PW. The Effects of Natural Antioxidants from Tomato Extract in Treated but Uncontrolled Hypertensive Patients . Cardiovasc Drugs Ther. 2009 Apr;23(2):107-8. doi: 10.1007/s10557-008-6161-4.
- Willcox JK, Catignani GL, Lazarus S. Tomatoes and cardiovascular health. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 2003;43:1–18.
