Eating tomatoes improves the gut microbiome, at least pigs can

According to the researchers, eating a large amount of tomatoes for two weeks in a row increased the diversity of the piglets' gut microbes and caused the gut bacteria to change
in a more favorable direction.

Based on these findings from short-term interventions, the research team plans to conduct similar studies in humans to explore potential health-related links
between tomato consumption and changes in the human gut microbiota.

Senior author Jessica Cooperstone, assistant professor of horticulture, crop science and food science and technology at The Ohio State University, said: "Tomatoes may provide benefits
by regulating the gut microbiome.
"

"Overall, dietary patterns are associated with differences in microbiome composition, but specific effects on food have not been studied
much," Cooperstone said.
Ultimately, we want to determine the role of these specific microbes in humans and how they contribute
to potential health outcomes.
”

The study was recently published in
the journal Microbiology Spectrum.

The tomatoes used in the study were developed by David Francis, a plant breeder, tomato geneticist and co-author at The Ohio State University, and are a common type
in canned tomato products.

Ten freshly weaned control pigs were fed a standard diet, and another 10 pigs were fed an adjusted standard diet, 10% of which consisted of
freeze-dried powder made from tomatoes.

The fiber, sugar, protein, fat, and calories in both diets are the same
.
The control group and the study herd lived separately, and the researchers who conducted the study minimized their time with the pigs — a series of precautions designed to ensure that any microbiome changes seen in the study diet could be attributed to the compounds
in the tomatoes.

Microbial communities in pig gut were detected
in fecal samples before the start of the study, as well as 7 and 14 days after the introduction of the diet.

The team used shotgun metagenomics to sequence
all the microbial DNA present in the sample.
The results showed two main changes in the microbial communities of pigs fed tomato-based feed – an increase in the diversity of microbial species in their guts, and a shift in the concentration of two bacteria commonly found in the mammalian microbiome to a more favorable situation
.

The study found that a higher proportion of Bacteroidota (formerly known as Bacteroides) to Bacillota (formerly known as Firmicutes) in the microbiome was associated with positive health outcomes, while other studies linked this ratio to obesity, with a higher
proportion of Bacillota compared to Bacteroidota.

In the Western diet, tomatoes make up about 22% of vegetable intake, and previous studies have shown that eating tomatoes can reduce the risk
of developing a variety of diseases such as cardiovascular disease and certain cancers.

But the effect of tomatoes on the gut microbiome remains a mystery, and Cooperstone said the findings in pigs suggest a pathway worth exploring because the pigs' gastrointestinal tract is more similar to the human gastrointestinal system
than rodents.

"This is our first investigation into how tomato consumption affects the microbiome, and we have identified which microbes are present and how their relative abundance varies with tomato intervention
," she said.
To truly understand this mechanism, we need to do more long-term research
in humans.
We also want to understand the complex interactions – how does eating these foods change the composition of existing microbes, and functionally, what does this do? Better understanding can lead to more evidence-based dietary recommendations
for long-term health.
”

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