Tomatoes are among the most available and affordable vegetables that provides a range of health benefits due to their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. In a recent study, scientists delved deeper into the health benefits of tomato juice: it can combat Salmonella Typhi and other harmful bacteria affecting digestive and urinary tract health.
The researchers revealed that tomato juice could kill the bacteria called Salmonella Typhi, a lethal human-specific pathogen that is responsible for typhoid fever.
Dr Jeongmin Song, Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at Cornell University and the principal investigator of the study, expressed the primary objective: "Our main goal in this study was to determine the antibacterial properties of tomatoes and tomato juice against enteric pathogens, including Salmonella Typhi, and identify the specific qualities that make them effective."
Tomato juice can combat Salmonella Typhi and other harmful bacteria affecting digestive and urinary tract health. Subsequently, the research team delved into the tomato's genome to identify antimicrobial peptides involved in the process.
These peptides, small proteins, were found to disrupt the bacterial membrane, which is crucial for the pathogen's integrity.Among four potential antimicrobial peptides, two were identified as effective against Salmonella Typhi. The researchers evaluated the efficacy of tomato juice against various enteric pathogens threatening digestive and urinary tract health. The discovery indicates that tomato juice efficiently eliminates Salmonella Typhi, including its hypervirulent variants, and other harmful bacteria affecting digestive and urinary tract health.
