Effect of tomato consumption on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level: a randomized, single-blinded, controlled clinical trial

Figures & data

Figure 1 Flow chart of the study protocol.

Abbreviation: n, number of subjects.

Table 1 Characteristics of the population studied

Parameter	Group		P-value
	Control (N = 24)	Tomato (N = 26)
Gender (female)	19 (38)	22 (44)	0.72
Age (years)	40.3 ± 16.0	43.4 ± 15.5	0.49
Weight (kg)	69.2 ± 11.9	69.5 ± 14.6	0.93
BMI (kg/m^2)	27.1 ± 4.0	27.1 ± 5.0	0.64
Waist circumference (cm)	90.1 ± 9.8	88.6 ± 9.7	0.96
Hip circumference (cm)	102.6 ± 8.0	101.8 ± 8.9	0.94
Systolic pressure (mmhg)	112.3 ± 19.3	107.5 ± 17.2	0.28
Diastolic pressure (mmhg)	74.9 ± 8.4	71.1 ± 10.0	0.16
Smoking, n (%)			0.34
Never	9 (19.1)	14 (29.8)
1 to 14 per day	6 (12.8)	3 (6.4)
More than 14 per day	0 (0)	0 (0)
In the past	8 (17.0)	7 (14.9)
Diet
Carbohydrates (%)	49.6 ± 6.5	50.9 ± 6.5	0.50
Simple sugars (%)	13.8 ± 5.8	15.1 ± 6.6	0.49
Fiber (%)	25.2 ± 7.4	23.7 ± 4.4	0.38
Fat (%)	33.8 ± 5.5	33.1 ± 5.1	0.64
Proteins (%)	16.4 ± 2.4	15.8 ± 2.5	0.44
Alcohol (g/month)	3.5 ± 1.4	4.9 ± 1.5	0.83
Fish (g/month)	0.3 ± 0.06	0.4 ± 0.05	0.70
Omega-3 (g/month)	0.17 (0.0–0.96)	0.61 (0.25–1.30)	0.02
Daily activity (kcal/month)	658 (576.5–729.4)	712 (643.1–826.1)	0.31
Adherence (days)			0.85
21	1 (4.2)	0 (0.0)
22	0 (0.0)	1 (3.8)
24	1 (4.2)	0 (0.0)
25	1 (4.2)	2 (7.7)
26	2 (8.3)	2 (7.7)
27	4 (16.7)	4 (15.4)
28	8 (33.3)	6 (23.1)
29	3 (12.5)	5 (19.2)
30	4 (16.7)	6 (23.1)

Notes: Data are presented as mean ± SD or median (interquartile range). Frequencies are expressed as N (%). Values represent the average from six weekly evaluations throughout the study (see supplementary table).

Abbreviations: N, number of subjects; BMI, body mass index.

Table 2 Effect of tomato consumption on lipid profile and anthropometric measurements

Parameter	Group
	Tomato (N = 26)			Control (N = 24)
	Baseline	Final	P-value	Baseline	Final	P-value
HDL-C	36.5 ± 7.5	41.6 ± 6.9	<0.0001	36.8 ± 7.2	35.8 ± 7.3	0.08
Men	32.0 ± 4.3	37.3 ± 2.0	0.06	32.6 ± 5.4	32.2 ± 6.7	0.62
Women	37.5 ± 6.2	42.3 ± 7.2	<0.0001	38.06 ± 7.5	36.8 ± 7.3	0.10
Triglycerides	113.4 ± 46.4	122.7 ± 21.8	0.18	107.5 ± 36.3	106.9 ± 41.5	0.89
Men	110 (51.0–140.7)	133 (42.0–136.0)	0.88	103.0 (77.5–113.5)	104.0 (66.5–145.5)	0.68
Women	107.5 (77.7–120.0)	110.0 (82.5–165.7)	0.12	119.0 (73.0–131.0)	101.0 (66.0–127.7)	0.28
Cholesterol	165.9 ± 44.7	169.7 ± 39.7	0.62	162.5 ± 31.0	159.9 ± 33.2	0.41
Men	132.0 ± 70.1	139.6 ± 76.2	0.44	157.0 ± 39.1	160.2 ± 36.2	0.61
Women	172.0 ± 41.2	174.2 ± 32.5	0.74	164.11 ± 29.5	159.8 ± 33.4	0.26
LDL-C	108.1 ± 38.1	104.5 ± 31.0	0.63	103.2 ± 28.0	104.3 ± 30.0	0.71
Men	63 (44.9–111.5)	67 (34.0–154.0)	0.59	101.2 ± 37.0	103.2 ± 28.9	0.79
Women	112.6 ± 37.6	107.6 ± 24.9	0.53	103.8 ± 26.4	104.7 ± 31.1	0.80
BMI (kg/m^2)	27.1 ± 5.0	27.0 ± 4.9	0.21	27.1 ± 4.0	26.9 ± 4.2	0.32
Men	26.4 ± 4.5	26.4 ± 4.1	0.87	25.8 ± 3.5	25.7 ± 2.9	0.69
Women	27.2 ± 5.1	27.1 ± 5.2	0.15	27.5 ± 4.2	27.2 ± 4.6	0.37
WC (cm)	88.6 ± 9.7	88.0 ± 10.6	0.38	90.1 ± 9.8	90.8 ± 10.4	0.11
Men	90.1 ± 6.0	90.1 ± 2.2	0.98	92.1 ± 9.9	92.5 ± 9.3	0.57
Women	88.3 ± 10.2	87.7 ± 11.3	0.30	89.6 ± 10.0	90.3 ± 10.8	0.15
HC (cm)	101.8 ± 8.9	101.6 ± 9.4	0.66	102.6 ± 8.0	102.7 ± 7.9	0.66
Men	99.0 ± 7.1	98.5 ± 5.8	0.67	97.9 ± 6.7	98.4 ± 5.8	0.43
Women	102.2 ± 9.2	102.1 ± 9.9	0.77	104.0 ± 8.0	104.0 ± 8.1	0.93
WHR	0.86 ± 0.05	0.86 ± 0.05	0.47	0.88 ± 0.07	0.88 ± 0.07	0.18
Men	0.92 ± 0.0	0.91 ± 0.0	0.65	0.94 ± 0.0	0.93 ± 0.0	0.21
Women	0.86 ± 0.0	0.85 ± 0.0	0.54	0.86 ± 0.0	0.87 ± 0.0	0.01

Abbreviations: N, number of subjects; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; BMI, body mass index; WC, waist circumference; HC, hip circumference; WHR, waist-to-hip ratio.

Figure 2 Correlation between the change in HDL-C levels and the number of days reported with complete adherence to cucumber (control group) or tomato consumption.

Note: Dotted lines represent a 95% confidence interval.
Abbreviation: HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

Figure 3 Change in HDL-C after tomato or cucumber consumption.

Notes: (A) Change in HDL-C levels according to days of adherence. The number of subjects is described in Table 1. (B) Change in HDL-C levels for every case studied (Student’s t-test, P < 0.0001).
Abbreviations: HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; n, number of subjects.

Table 3 Linear regression model to evaluate the independent parameters associated with the increment of HDL-C

Parameter	β ± SE	95% CI	P-value
Tomato	5.79 ± 0.88	3.99–7.59	<0.0001
Adherence	0.61 ± 0.24	0.12–1.11	0.01
Smoking	−0.29 ± 0.33	−0.97 to 0.38	0.38
Age	0.014 ± 0.04	−0.08 to 0.11	0.77
Gender	−1.07 ± 1.80	−4.74 to 2.60	0.55
WHR	7.66 ± 9.02	−10.73 to 26.05	0.40
Triglycerides	−0.01 ± 0.01	−0.03 to 0.01	0.46
BMI	0.05 ± 0.12	−0.20 to 0.31	0.66
Physical activity	−0.001 ± 0.002	−0.004 to 0.002	0.45
Omega-3	0.13 ± 0.19	−0.26 to 0.52	0.49
Alcohol	0.01 ± 0.07	−0.13 to 0.17	0.81
Simple sugars	−0.06 ± 0.07	−0.22 to 0.08	0.39
Fish	0.38 ± 2.00	−3.69 to 4.46	0.84

Notes: Parameters of the model: F = 5.20; r = 0.83; r ² = 0.69; P < 0.0001.

Abbreviations: HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; SE, standard error; CI, confidence interval; WHR, waist-to-hip ratio; BMI, body mass index.

Table S1 Clinical and nutritional characteristics of the population studied throughout the study

Weekly visits	Groups												P-value*
	Control (N = 24)						Tomato (N = 26)
	1	2	3	4	5	6	1	2	3	4	5	6
Clinical evaluation
Weight (kg)	69.7 ± 11.8	69.9 ± 11.9	69.7 ± 11.7	69.9 ± 12.0	69.7 ± 11.9	69.1 ± 12.5	67.8 ± 12.6	69.0 ± 12.4	69.0 ± 12.3	69.0 ± 12.4	67.7 ± 12.4	67.6 ± 12.6	0.76
BMI (kg/m^2)	26.9 ± 4.1	27.1 ± 4.1	27.0 ± 4.0	27.0 ± 4.2	26.9 ± 4.1	26.9 ± 4.2	27.6 ± 5.0	27.6 ± 4.9	27.7 ± 4.8	27.7 ± 4.9	27.6 ± 4.9	27.6 ± 4.9	0.78
WC (cm)	89.4 ± 10.0	89.6 ± 9.9	90.2 ± 10.5	90.1 ± 10.7	89.9 ± 9.9	89.9 ± 9.9	89.8 ± 9.7	89.8 ± 9.8	89.9 ± 10.5	89.9 ± 10.0	88.9 ± 10.4	88.5 ± 10.6	0.30
HC (cm)	102.4 ± 8.1	102.3 ± 8.0	102.1 ± 8.1	102.3 ± 8.1	102.3 ± 7.9	102.4 ± 7.9	102.5 ± 9.0	102.8 ± 8.4	102.7 ± 9.2	102.9 ± 9.6	102.2 ± 9.2	102.3 ± 9.5	0.19
SBP (mmhg)	95.7 ± 5.3	98.5 ± 10.6	100.0 ± 10.0	98.5 ± 12.1	97.1 ± 9.5	97.1 ± 13.8	105.3 ± 12.8	103.0 ± 13.0	101.0 ± 11.1	100.0 ± 11.2	100.7 ± 16.0	101.6 ± 12.1	0.32
DBP (mmhg)	67.1 ± 7.5	72.8 ± 7.5	70.0 ± 8.1	71.4 ± 10.6	68.5 ± 8.9	70.0 ± 10.0	67.2 ± 8.3	68.2 ± 7.6	68.4 ± 8.0	70.0 ± 10	70.0 ± 10	71.1 ± 10.7	0.76
Nutritional evaluation
Carbohydrates (%)	–	51.1 ± 8.5	50.1 ± 8.7	50.1 ± 6.4	48.6 ± 7.3	49.5 ± 9.3	–	52.3 ± 7.6	49.8 ± 7.6	50.8 ± 7.9	50.9 ± 8.3	50.9 ± 7.5	0.81
Sugars (%)	–	15.7 ± 8.0	13.5 ± 7.4	13.2 ± 7.0	12.4 ± 6.1	13.4 ± 6.5	–	15.7 ± 8.0	14.3 ± 7.5	15.3 ± 7.8	15.5 ± 7.0	14.6 ± 7.2	0.43
Fiber (g)	–	23.3 ± 10.1	26.6 ± 8.6	25.6 ± 7.2	25.2 ± 7.4	25.8 ± 7.7	–	22.7 ± 8.0	25.2 ± 7.6	25.4 ± 6.7	24.4 ± 7.4	24.6 ± 7.0	0.70
Fat (%)	–	32.9 ± 7.6	33.3 ± 6.9	33.2 ± 6.0	34.1 ± 7.3	34.7 ± 7.8	–	32.5 ± 6.1	33.8 ± 6.1	33.0 ± 5.7	33.3 ± 7.5	32.8 ± 6.5	0.78
Proteins (%)	–	15.8 ± 2.6	16.3 ± 3.1	16.5 ± 3.4	17.1 ± 2.8	15.7 ± 3.1	–	15.1 ± 2.8	16.2 ± 2.9	16.0 ± 3.3	15.7 ± 2.9	16.1 ± 3.1	0.24
Alcohol (g/week)	–	4.7 ± 1.3	3.0 ± 0.9	3.6 ± 2.8	2.3 ± 1.3	3.8 ± 1.1	–	6.4 ± 1.4	2.0 ± 1.6	7.6 ± 1.9	6.4 ± 1.2	2.3 ± 1.6	0.57
Fish (g/week)	–	0.30 ± 0.07	0.26 ± 0.04	0.34 ± 0.08	0.30 ± 0.07	0.30 ± 0.07	–	0.36 ± 0.04	0.40 ± 0.05	0.50 ± 0.05	0.45 ± 0.05	0.40 ± 0.05	0.98
Omega-3 (g/week)	–	0.38 ± 0.2	0.22 ± 0.04	0.25 ± 0.06	0.19 ± 0.04	0.81 ± 0.2	–	0.40 ± 0.05	0.30 ± 0.06	1.1 ± 0.5	0.56 ± 0.7	0.48 ± 0.07	0.25

Notes: Data represent the mean ± SD.

* P-values using repeated-measures analysis of variance. Visit 1 was screening. Treatment started on visit 2 and ended on visit 6.

Abbreviations: N, number of subjects; BMI, body mass index; WC, waist circumference; HC, hip circumference; SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; SD, standard deviation.