LAUSR

As a result of thermal treatments of tomatoes, a significant lycopene degradation is produced, being modulated this effect by the moisture content. It is of great interest, as a consequence, to know the effect of thermal processes on nutritional properties of tomatoes. The information obtained may be a valuable tool to optimize the conditions of thermal processing, mainly temperature and water content, to minimize lycopene degradation. In the present study, we compared the efficiency of three types of processed tomatoes, i.e., Cold Break, Oleoresin, and Powder, as protection agents against oxidative stress induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in the liver, kidney, heart, lung, and brain tissues of rats. To check the antioxidant properties of these processed, rats were pre-treated with Cold Break, Oleoresin, and Powder processed tomatoes, and then intoxicated with CCl4. Activities of serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were measured to check the hepatic damage in rats. With the aim of evaluating the protective efficiency of processed tomatoes in rat tissues, we measured the concentration of chemical stress oxidative markers H2O2, malonyldialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH), and the activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GRase), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Our results clearly showed that, although the efficiencies of the three types of processed tomatoes were not the same and that the effect in each tissue was slightly different, the Oleoresin preparation showed a protective effect against organ oxidative stress that was slightly higher than tomato Powder or Cold Break products.