Golden Tomato Juice Enhances Hepatic PPAR-α Expression, Mitigates Metabolic Dysfunctions and Influences Redox Balance in a High-Fat-Diet Rat Model

• Published in: Antioxidants 2024-10, Vol.13 (11), p.1324
• Main Authors: Di Majo, Danila, Ricciardi, Nicolò, Moncada, Alessandra, Allegra, Mario, Frinchi, Monica, Di Liberto, Valentina, Pitonzo, Rosa, Rappa, Francesca, Saiano, Filippo, Vetrano, Filippo, Miceli, Alessandro, Giglia, Giuseppe, Ferraro, Giuseppe, Sardo, Pierangelo, Gambino, Giuditta
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino acids; Antioxidants; Bioactive compounds; Body weight; Carbohydrates; Care and treatment; Comparative analysis; Cytochrome; Diet; Dietary supplements; Dyslipidemia; Fatty acids; Fatty liver; Food; Food intake; Fruits; functional food; Functional foods; Functional foods & nutraceuticals; Genetic aspects; Glucose tolerance; Health aspects; High fat diet; High performance liquid chromatography; Homeostasis; Inflammation; Investigations; Juices; Kinases; Leptin; Lipid metabolism; Lipids; Liver; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Measurement; Metabolic disorders; Metabolic syndrome; Metabolic syndrome X; Morphology; Nutrition research; Oxidation; Oxidative metabolism; Oxidative stress; oxylipin; Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors; Physiological aspects; Plant growth; Polyphenols; PPAR-α; Risk factors; Steatosis; Tomato juice; Tomatoes
• ISSN: 2076-3921; 2076-3921
• DOI: 10.3390/antiox13111324

Golden tomato (GT), harvested at the veraison stage, has gained attention due to its rich content of bioactive compounds and potential health benefits. Previous studies have highlighted GT's antioxidant properties and its positive effects on metabolic syndrome (MetS), a condition characterized by obesity, dyslipidemia, and oxidative stress. This study investigates for the first time a derivative from GT, i.e., the juice (GTJ), which could be a potential candidate for development as a functional food. We first characterized GT juice, identifying 9-oxo-10(E),12(E)-octadecadienoic (9-oxo-10(E),12(E)-ODA) fatty acid, a known peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR-α) agonist, using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)-mass spectrometry. Then, using a high-fat-diet (HFD) rat model, we assessed the impact of daily GT juice supplementation in addressing MetS. We outlined that GTJ improved body weight and leptin-mediated food intake. Moreover, it ameliorated glucose tolerance, lipid profile, systemic redox homeostasis, hepatic oxidative stress, and steatosis in HFD rats. Furthermore, GT juice enhances the hepatic transcription of PPAR-α, thus putatively promoting fatty acid oxidation and lipid metabolism. These findings suggest that GT juice mitigates lipidic accumulation and putatively halters oxidative species at the hepatic level through PPAR-α activation. Our study underscores the protective effects of GT juice against MetS, highlighting its future potential as a nutraceutical for improving dysmetabolism and associated alterations.