Antioxidative and Anticancer Activities of the Betatini Cultivar of Cherry Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme) Extract

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a cherry tomato (Betatini cultivar) as a functional food and food material by measuring total polyphenol and flavonoid content, antioxidative and anticancer activities. The contents of polyphenols and flavonoids were 11.02±1.98 mg and 4.53±0.59 mg per gram of dried cherry tomato, respectively. The antioxidative activity of the cherry tomato extract was verified by measuring α-α-Diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity (DSA), 2,2’-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) radical scavenging activity (ASA) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). Half of the radical scavenging concentrations (IC50) of DSA and ASA were 340.26±4.28 μg/mL and 350.77±7.79 μg/mL, respectively. The FRAP value was 25.47±0.79 μmol Fe,2+/g. The effects of the cherry tomato extract on the growth of normal liver cell (Chang), normal lung cell (Hel299), lung cancer cell (A549), cervical cancer cell (HeLa) and liver cancer cell (HepG2) were also investigated using MTT assay. The cherry tomato extract showed high growth inhibition effects against HeLa and HepG2 cell. These results indicate that the Betatini cultivar of cherry tomato would be a functional food and food material.