Latest Tomatoes Stories

SACRAMENTO -- An insect-borne virus that has killed tomato plants across Central America, Florida and Georgia has been detected in California for the first time.The virus, known as tomato yellow leaf curl, devastated crops in the Dominican Republican and in Mexico, forcing those countries to curtail the growing season to contain the spread of the disease.Tomatoes are California's eighth largest crop. The state supplies the vast majority of the nation's processed tomatoes - 95 percent,...

WASHINGTON -- That fresh grassy smell wafting up from the newly sliced tomato may be its way of saying "I'm good for you."Indeed, the odors from foods ranging from garlic and onions to ginger and strawberries may be nutritional signals that the human nose has learned to recognize."Studies of flavor preferences and aversions suggest that flavor perception may be linked to the nutritional or health value" of foods, researchers Stephen A. Goff and Harry J. Klee report in...

By Amy NortonNEW YORK -- A dietary supplement derived from tomatoes may help treat moderately elevated blood pressure, the results of a small study suggest.Researchers in Israel found that a daily dose of tomato extract helped lower blood pressure among 31 men and women with mild hypertension. On average, their systolic pressure --the top number in a blood-pressure reading --dropped 10 points, while their diastolic pressure, or bottom number, dipped four points, both statistically significant...

50% mixture prevented emphysema in mouse study, Japanese researchers sayTomato juice prevented emphysema in mice exposed to cigarette smoke, a known cause of the lung-destroying disease, Japanese researchers report.They attributed the protective effect to lycopene, an antioxidant with a somewhat checkered history as a supplement to protect against various diseases.The Japanese report, in the February issue of the American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, appears...