вЂњAnd among the results, we found that serving meals rich in probiotics with fried tomato sauce boosts its probiotic effect as well as causing a progressive isomerization of the lycopene of the tomato, from form cis to trans throughout digestion, which positively results in an increased final bioaccessibility of this carotenoid.вЂќ вЂњWe worked with raw and fried tomato to determine the impact of processing,вЂќ notes Heredia. And in this context, cooked tomato sauce appeared to be more effective than the raw equivalent.Д¬ooking the sauce also transformed the lycopene present in the tomato - a process known as cis-trans isomerization - which actually helped to preserve the integrity of this antioxidant through the digestive process, allowing more of it to be absorbed. reuteri appeared to prevent some of the antioxidants from being absorbed into the blood system.ДЄt the same time, however, the research team found that the antioxidants from the tomato sauce enhanced the positive effects of L. The results of their experiments - now published in the Journal of Functional Foods - indicate that the digestive process resulted in a loss of antioxidants, both in the case of raw and cooked (fried) tomato sauce.ДЄlso, the presence of L.

вЂњWe have evaluated the viability of the probiotic strain along the digestive process individually and the presence of antioxidants from vegetable sources, as well as the impact of the probiotic strain on the changes suffered by antioxidant compounds and the resulting bioaccessibility,вЂќ explains Heredia. In the current study, the research team conducted in vitro experiments to see how Lactobacillus reuteri - one of the main bacterial species that contribute to gut health - would interact with antioxidants derived from tomato sauce, and how the cooking process would influence that interaction.ДЇor this purpose, the researchers chose to use pear tomatoes, as they have a higher content of lycopene. Existing research also suggests that tomatoes have probiotic properties - that is, that they can boost the activity of healthful bacteria in the gut. Tomatoes are considered a healthful food because, among other things, they contain a pigment called lycopene - an antioxidant that helps to protect cells from damaging factors. Specifically, senior researcher Ana BelГ©n Heredia and her team were interested in seeing how tomato sauce - rich in antioxidants - would behave in the presence of good bacteria in the gut.ДЄnd, since tomato sauce can be served raw or cooked, they wanted to understand what effect this would have on the antioxidant-gut bacteria interaction. Now, however, researchers from the Universitat PolitГЁcnica de ValГЁncia in Spain are looking at how gut bacteria interact with antioxidants in the gut.

Probiotic foods - such as certain types of yogurt, kefir, or kimchi - fall into this category, as they boost the population of good bacteria in our guts, which contribute to our overall health in many ways. вЂњHowever,вЂќ she goes on to clarify, вЂњfoods are now being examined intensively for added physiologic benefits, which may reduce chronic disease risk or otherwise optimize health.вЂќ And those foods seen to bring specific health benefits are deemed вЂњfunctional.вЂќ вЂњAll foods are functional to some extent because all foods provide taste, aroma, and nutritive value,вЂќ explains researcher Clare Hasler in a Journal of Nutrition article. Over the past few years, researchers and consumers alike have been taking interest in whether or not the foods that eventually reach our tables are вЂњfunctional.вЂќ But what are functional foods?

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