Born an anti-cancer “supertomato”
A ’supertomato’ created by Italian scientists is the perfect food for helping keep cancer at bay, the head of the World Foundation of Urology said on Tuesday. Launching Prostate Cancer Week in Italy, Mauro Dimitri said the ’supertomato’ created by the Biomolecular Institute at the Naples National Research Centre offered a unique blend of nutritional qualities – reported Ansa.
“This tomato has nutritional characteristics that are ideally suited for preventing disease,” explained Dimitri. “It has a total anti-oxidant activity superior to all other tomato hybrids normally for sale, both fresh and preserved. It has a greater content of the cancer-fighting carotene lycopene and vitamin C than is found in purple tomatoes, and the same anti-inflammatory properties as the San Marzano tomato”.
These qualities not only make it suitable for fending off prostate cancer but also for reducing the risks of a host of other diseases like cardiovascular disease, arthritis, Parkinson’s Disease and osteoporosis, as well as cancers of the lung and stomach.
The team of scientists that created the tomato has been at pains to stress that it involved no genetically modified organisms but is a simple blend of two existing varieties: the San Marzano, famed for its taste and anti-inflammatory properties, and the Black Tomato, a purple fruit high in anti-oxidants.
The real name of the ‘supertomato‘, Maxantia, is still awaiting registration but widespread cultivation of the bright red, plum tomato has already got under way in Campania.
Photo: greenpacks.org
