NEWS ARTICLE
The Tomato and the Heart / large EU project starts
Nutritionist of Jena University coordinates new EU project “LYCOCARD”
(Jena, 10.04.06)
The tomato is, followed by the potato, the most widely used vegetable in Europe. That is a good thing, since tomatoes prevent cardio-vascular diseases, attributed to their ingredient and plant pigment lycopene. So far, however, the total food chain between healthy, raw tomatoes and improved health has not been fully discovered. Scientists, technologists, industrial partners and patient-organisations from six European countries are now trying to bridge this gap, headed by Jena scientists. In the next five years the EU will support the 15 partners of the project “Lycocard”, “lyco-” standing for lycopene, and “-card” for cardio-vascular diseases. Starting this month, a multidisciplinary team will investigate the role of lycopene in reducing the risk of cardio-vascular diseases by adopting a “farm to fork” approach.
This ambitious project is supported by the EU’s sixth framework programme with altogether 5.2 million Euro. PD Dr. Volker Böhm of the Institute of Nutrition at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany, coordinates the project. “This is the first research project of this scale that is coordinated from Thuringia” says the 44 year old nutritionist. He is especially pleased, since the project start required a two-leveled application process and nine months of negotiations, during which Böhm has been supported by the University’s Office of Research-Development and -Transfer.
„Five servings of fruit and vegetable a day, containing at least one tomato product“ – envisions Böhm as future dietary guideline. With this rule of thumb, consumers could create a meal plan which would significantly lower the risk of suffering from heart diseases. Thus, “Lycocard” would contribute to the health of consumers and at the same time lower the cost for insurance systems, because cardiovascular diseases are, aside from cancer, one of the main mortality causes in developed countries. Furthermore, the project significantly broadens the state-of-the-art of science. Böhm is sure that “The European food industry could strengthen its position since the demand for healthy tomato products will rise, and the development of such is one of the sub-goals of this project”.
Until then, many details from the raw tomato to the final product, from the composition of bio-active ingredients to the effects in biological systems will have to be investigated and evaluated. “Lycocard” aims to clarify the following points: What effects do technological processes have on the content of lyccopene? How do the various food ingredients interact? What are the molecular aspects of lycopene absorption and metabolism? How do lycopene isomers and lycopene metabolites act in different biological systems? How is the bioavailability of lycopene within the human body?
The project website www.lycocard.com which is presently under construction will be regularly filled with ongoing results related to the topic “tomatoes and heart”, making it an information platform for science, industry, patient organisations and consumers.
Contact:
PD Dr. Volker Böhm
Institute of Nutrition
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Dornburger Straße 25-29
07743 Jena
Germany
phone: +49 (0)3641 / 949633, fax: +49 (0)3641 / 949632
E-Mail: Volker.Boehm@uni-jena.de
Lycocard-Partner:
o Volker Böhm, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena (Germany) - coordinator
o Verena Stangl, Charité, Berlin (Germany)
o Catherine Caris-Veyrat, INRA, Avignon (France)
o Ralph Rühl, University Debrecen (Hungary)
o Gordon Lowe, Liverpool John Moores University (UK)
o Mariá Jesús Periago Castón, University Murcia (Spain)
o Patrick Borel, INRA Marseille (France)
o Paola Palozza, Catholic University Rome (Italy)
o Alvaro Mordente, Catholic University Rome (Italy)
o Martin Vestweber, German Heart Foundation, Frankfurt (Germany)
o Pablo Serrano Santos, JUVER, Murcia (Spain)
o Sophie Colvine, AMITOM, Avignon (France)
o Inigo Martinez-Fresneda, AGRAZ, Villafranco del Guadiana (Spain)
o Jesus Espinosa Garcia, CONESA, Villafranco del Guadiana (Spain)
o David Cameron, Caledonian Science Press, Sitges (Spain)
