| Summary: | Crocins are high-value water soluble pigments that have long been recognized for their medicinal properties, and whose demand has increased worldwide in recent years. In the present study transgenic tomato fruits engineered for the production of crocins and hp3/Bsh tomato mutants with alterations in the carotenoid metabolism, have been combined to increase the levels of crocins in tomato fruits. Tomato fruits from F4 plants showed high antioxidant capacity and the crocin-rich juice of the produced tomato fruit was protected neuroblastoma cells against oxidative insult, through its ability to activate factor 2 related to nuclear erythroid factor 2 (Nrf2). The bio-accessibility of crocins in the juice showed values similar to the ones observed with saffron. Overall, our results support that crocin-fortified tomatoes could result in higher crocin availability and have additional health-promoting effects and could provide better protection against oxidative stress related chronic diseases in humans.
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