Daily consumption of a small amount of concentrated tomato paste for three months can have a positive effect on certain indicators of memory and attention in healthy middle-aged people, according to the results of a clinical study by Spanish scientists.
As reported by New York Post, experiment participants consumed about 35 grams of concentrated tomato paste every day - about two tablespoons. The study was published in the scientific journal Antioxidants.
47 healthy adults aged 40-55 years participated in a randomized crossover study, 42 of whom completed the experiment. The participants went through two three-month periods: during one, they consumed concentrated tomato paste daily at the rate of 0.5 g per kilogram of body weight, during the other, they followed a diet with limited lycopene content. There was a one-month break between the periods.
According to the results of neuropsychological tests, after the period of consumption of tomato paste, the subjects improved their selective attention. The concentration indicator increased by an average of 7.2 points, the speed of information processing - by 8.3 points. An improvement in associative memory was also recorded, in particular the ability to match faces and names.
Researchers also recorded a trend towards increased levels of the brain neurotrophic factor BDNF - a protein involved in the maintenance of neurons, neuroplasticity and memory processes. At the same time, this increase was on the verge of statistical significance.
Functional MRI in some of the participants showed changes in connections between neural networks related to attention and cognitive functions. The authors of the study suggest that the consumption of tomatoes can contribute to the functional reconstruction of brain networks.
One of the possible factors of such an effect, scientists call lycopene - a carotenoid antioxidant rich in tomatoes and their processing products. Lycopene is able to cross the blood-brain barrier and has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. At the same time, the researchers emphasize that tomatoes contain many other biologically active substances, so it is currently impossible to establish that the detected effect is solely related to lycopene.
The authors also warn against over-interpreting the results. The study was small, lasting only a few months and involving healthy middle-aged people. It does not prove that tomato paste prevents dementia or can be used to treat cognitive impairment.
Primary study: PubMed - Tomato Intake Improves Cognitive Performance and Modulates Functional Brain Networks in Healthy Adults.
