Tomato juice prevents emphysema

The use of tomato juice prevents the development of emphysema that occurs when regular cigarette smoke, established by Japanese scientists.

The findings of researchers from the University of Tokyo Juntendo were obtained in experiments on mice and will soon be tested on humans.

The study is published in the February issue of the American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology.As objects of research were taken two lines of mice: the common laboratory mouse and mouse with the changed heredity, genetically programmed to accelerated aging. The latter was chosen by scientists due to the faster development of emphysema.

Within eight weeks, the mice were kept in an atmosphere of tobacco smoke. The mice from both lines during the experiment was regularly drinking 50% tomato juice. At the conclusion of the experiment, the "rapidly aging" mice had the emphysema – a chronic disease, accompanied by loss of elasticity of the lung tissue and increase of its lightness. All of the normal mice were found healthy. In addition, not sick with emphysema and those genetically modified mouse that regular used 50% tomato juice.

Emphysema is accompanied by an increase of their size with a simultaneous decrease in the area involved in gas exchange. The most frequent complaint of patients is shortness of breath on exertion, which gradually becomes constant, and cough. In the development of the disease involve many factors including re-infection, air pollution and working conditions associated with the constant inhalation of coal dust or particles of asbestos and silicon.

The main reason for the development of emphysema is considered as the Smoking, reports Rol.Japanese researchers under the guidance of Kuniaki suggested that the basis for the protective effect of tomato juice is its antioxidant called "lycopene".

Antioxidants have a protective effect on the body due to its ability to suppress the formation of harmful oxygen radicals – molecules causing injury and cell death. "We anticipate that lycopene restores the balance between oxidants and antioxidants is disrupted in our experiments, as a result of exposure to tobacco smoke," said Kuniaki Seyama.

Meanwhile, Richard Baybutt of the University of Kansas does not agree with the findings of Japanese scientists and considers that the main protective factor is beta-carotene, which in large quantities contained in tomato juice. Beta-carotene is a precursor of vitamin a, deficiency of which itself can lead to the development of emphysema. In addition, benzopyrene contained in tobacco smoke, is able to reduce the concentration of vitamin A, substantiates the assumptions of American scientist.

Source: ecowars.tv/