Organic ketchup higher in polyphenols

BARCELONA -- A scientific study has revealed that ketchup made from organically grown tomatoes contains higher levels of polyphenols -– functional molecules of plant origin with proven human health benefits -– than ketchup made from conventional tomatoes. The study, reported in an article in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, focused on the biochemical and metabolomic analysis of a range of branded ketchups. The research was carried out by Rosa M. Lamuela, Anna Vallverdú-Queralt and Alexander Medina-Remón, from the University of Barcelona Department of Nutrition and Bromatology and the Institute for Research on Nutrition and food Safety (INSA); Mercedes Amat, from the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutic Chemistry; and Olga Jaúregui and Isidre Casals-Ribes, from UB’s Science and Technology Centres (CCIT-UB).

Different agricultural management models, comprising a range of cultivation and fertilization techniques that vary between organic and conventional crops, can affect the nutrient content of agricultural and commercial products. According to the new study, the agricultural system in which tomatoes are grown affects the levels of bioactive compounds and other metabolites found in commercially available ketchups.

Metabolomics is pushing back the frontiers of research into the biomolecules in biological and ecological systems. “Other studies have used metabolomics to analyse alterations in tomatoes caused by mutations. By applying this methodology to our study, we were able to make the first observations of differences in biomarkers between commercial ketchups made from organic and conventional tomatoes. We conclude that polyphenols are the main differential markers between products containing organically or conventionally grown tomatoes,” said first author Vallverdú-Queralt.

The results show that ketchup made from organically grown tomatoes contains higher levels of the polyphenolic compounds flavonols, flavanones and phenolic acids, biomolecules with antioxidant properties and protective effects in the human body. In contrast, ketchup made from conventional tomatoes shows higher levels of nitrogen compounds, essential for the synthesis of proteins and other biomolecules: “In this type of ketchup we have found a greater quantity of nitrogen-rich molecules – the dipeptides glutamylphenylalanine and n- malonyltryptophan,” explains Professor Lamuela, head of the Natural Antioxidant Group and coordinator of the study. 

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