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29 Apr 2008
Tomato-based sauces could help to improve the skin's ability to protect the body from sun damage, a UK study reports.
Research presented at the British Society for Investigative Dermatology suggested that adding five tablespoons of tomato paste to one's daily diet could protect against sunburn and skin ageing caused by spending too much time under the sun's rays.
Researchers from the Universities of Manchester and Newcastle compared the skin of 20 people, half of whom were given five tablespoons of standard tomato paste with 10g of olive oil and the remaining half receiving just olive oil, for a period of 12 weeks.
Participants were exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light at the beginning and end of the trial, with the tomato group showing a significant improvement in the ability of their skin to protect itself from UV.
The group who had eaten the paste showed 33 per cent higher protection against sunburn, with this protection calculated to be the equivalent of a sun cream with a sun protection factor of 1.3.
Experts believe that the antioxidant lycopene, the bright red pigment found in the fruit, could be a reason for the apparent benefit to skin as it is able to neutralise harmful molecules known as 'reactive oxygen species', which can damage important skin structures.
"These weren't huge amounts of tomato we were feeding the group. It was the sort of quantity you would easily manage if you eating a lot of tomato-based meals," professor Lesley Rhodes, dermatologist at the University of Manchester, explained.
However he was keen to stress that adequate sun protection should not be forgotten: "People should not think that tomatoes in any way can replace sun creams, but they may be a good additive. If you can improve your protection through your diet then over several years, this may have a significant effect."
Meanwhile, researchers at Manchester University also found that the lycopene helped to reduce damage to mitochondrial DNA in the skin linked with skin ageing.
"While the protection offered by lycopene is low, this research suggests that a diet containing high levels of antioxidant rich tomatoes could provide an extra tool in sun protection," Nina Goad of the British Association of Dermatologists concluded.
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