Tangerine tomato or Tangerine color?

[roper2008]

I was reading earls post on orange tomatoes called Tangerine tomato
having caused a noticeable boost in this form of lycopene in participants
blood. Red tomatoes contain more lycopene, but most of it is in a form
the body doesn't absorb. I was reading somewhere where it was the
color tangerine, not necessarily the variety tangerine. So I'm thinking
I should have one deep orange tomato in my garden next year. Anybody
heard about this?

[cornbreadlouie]

I believe orange tomatoes have a higher percentage of beta-carotene instead of the lycopene of red tomatoes.

If an expert would chime in though, I'd love to hear about the different nutritional profiles of different colored tomatoes.

blue = anthocyanin, red = lycopene, orange = beta-carotene, but what about the yellow and green tomatoes? Do striped/bi-coloreds have higher concentrations of antioxidants or flavonoids or what have you?

As for orange tomatoes, I've only grown one which I think was jubilee, and it was a decent producer of what I thought were pretty tasty tomatoes. Makes really pretty orange sauce and good for eating straight up, like an apple. Though I'm not sure it was actually jubilee, it didn't come with a tag.

[Dutch]

Tangerine Tomatoes Surpass Reds in Preliminary Lycopene Study

By Marcia Wood
February 1, 2011

Besides their appealing orange color and sweet flavor, there's another reason to give tangerine tomatoes a try this year. A one-month study led by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists in California has provided new evidence to suggest that, ounce for ounce, these heirloom tomatoes might be a better source of a powerful antioxidant called lycopene than are familiar red tomatoes.

The difference lies in the forms of lycopene that the two tomato types provide. That's according to chemist Betty J. Burri, based at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, Calif. ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency.
The trans-lycopene form, or isomer, makes up most of the lycopene in common red tomatoes. In contrast, most of the lycopene in tangerine tomatoes is tetra-cis-lycopene.

Results of the California investigation and one conducted by scientists in Ohio suggest that the tangerine tomato's tetra-cis-lycopene is more efficiently absorbed by the body than is the trans-lycopene of red tomatoes.

For the California study, 21 healthy men and women volunteers alternated week-long "no-lycopene" stints with a week-long tangerine tomato treatment and a week-long red tomato treatment. Volunteers were asked to not eat tomatoes or other foods rich in lycopene during the study, except for the special lunches of kidney bean chili provided to them at the nutrition center during the tomato treatment weeks. The chili, about a two-cup serving, was made with either red or tangerine tomato sauce, and was accompanied by French bread, butter and a salad of leafy greens with dressing.

Analyses of volunteers' blood samples, using high performance liquid chromatography, indicated that lycopene levels increased relative to levels measured just before each one-week chili regimen began. However, total lycopene levels increased more following the tangerine tomato treatment week than following the red tomato treatment.

Using a procedure known as a TBARS assay, the scientists determined that oxidative damage decreased with both treatments, and that decreases were greater following the tangerine-tomato regimen.
Burri and former ARS biologist Betty K. Ishida, along with former ARS visiting scientist Jung S. Seo and others, published their findings in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition in 2009.

Source - Tangerine Tomatoes Surpass Reds in Preliminary Lycopene Study

[Fusion_power]

There are about 5 different carotenoids that I've seen in tomatoes and several more that I haven't. From memory, delta carotene is the best source. The true tangerine gene is a relatively weak source. I have 97L97 which has 40X beta carotene (vitamin A precursor) but which has a very intense flavor that has to be blended with other tomatoes. It is an excellent salsa tomato and makes a good high vitamin juice if blended 1 part to 5 with good flavored tomatoes.

Btw, Keith Muller is working on some delta carotene selections.

DarJones

[travis]

No soy un experto.

It is the tangerine gene (t) that causes the tangerine or rich orange color of the tomato flesh. The color also is apparent in the flowers as the gene causes suffusion of an orange tone over the anthers.

There is a tomato variety named Tangerine which carries the tangerine gene, expresses it with tangerine colored flesh, and has been used extensively in tomato breeding to impart the tangerine gene to resulting tomato lines.

Jubilee (aks Golden Jubilee) is an example of a tomato resulting from a cross with Tangerine: Jubilee: breeder: W. Atlee Burpee Co. Parentage: six-generation selection from Tangerine x Rutgers cross. Burpee Catalog 1943. http://cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/cucurbit/w.../tomatojr.html

The tangerine gene is associated with beta carotine: http://acrbuynow.info/content/14/2/333.full

Caro Rich is tomato specifically bred to deliver "10 times" the beta carotine of average tomatoes. However, I think the species used in Caro Rich is L. hirsutum rather than Tangerine (S. lycopesicum).

[cornbreadlouie]

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

There are about 5 different carotenoids that I've seen in tomatoes and several more that I haven't. From memory, delta carotene is the best source. The true tangerine gene is a relatively weak source. I have 97L97 which has 40X beta carotene (vitamin A precursor) but which has a very intense flavor that has to be blended with other tomatoes. It is an excellent salsa tomato and makes a good high vitamin juice if blended 1 part to 5 with good flavored tomatoes.

Btw, Keith Muller is working on some delta carotene selections.

DarJones

Are 97L97 seeds available anywhere? A quick Google search didn't find me much. Would be cool to use for crosses.

[Fusion_power]

Originally Posted by cornbreadlouie

Are 97L97 seeds available anywhere? A quick Google search didn't find me much. Would be cool to use for crosses.

I probably have enough seed around to send out a few. IM me.



Re Caro Rich and Caro Red, they get the higher Beta Carotene from Cheesmanii, not Hirsutum.

DarJones

[roper2008]

Is it possible for me to get some 97L97 also.

[travis]

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

Re Caro Rich and Caro Red, they get the higher Beta Carotene from Cheesmanii, not Hirsutum.
DarJones

Could be.

I got my information from NCSU Cultivar Lists:
Caro-Red - Breeder: Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana. Vendor: Agric. Alumni Seed Improvement Association. Parentage: L. hirsutum, Indiana, Baltimore, and Rutgers. Characteristics: orange-red fruit contain about 10 times as much provitamin A as do current red or orange fruited cultivars. Similar: Rutgers. 1958.
http://cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/cucurbit/w.../tomatoai.html

[Fusion_power]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...14/pdf/769.pdf

That one is worth reading to get some fundamentals about carotenoids in tomatoes.

I'll look back at the parentage of Caro Rich. I first grew it in 1988 and remember at that time it was claimed to be derived from Cheesmanii. But it would not be the first time I've been wrong about a tomato!

If others want 97L97, IM me and I'll see what I can do. Just don't expect to eat it fresh. The flavor is best described as sour/tart/bitter. But it does make a nice addition to salsa for the same reasons that lemons make good lemonade.

I just found the history of Caro Rich and Caro Red. It is indeed Hirsutum.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/...6/fulltext.pdf

DarJones

[travis]

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

I'll look back at the parentage of Caro Rich. I first grew it in 1988 and remember at that time it was claimed to be derived from Cheesmanii. But it would not be the first time I've been wrong about a tomato!

I've found mistakes in the NCSU Cultivar Lists for tomatoes before. In fact, there's a mistake in the citation I cut from the Cultivar List and pasted into message #9 above. There should be no comma between Indiana and Baltimore. The variety used was Indiana Baltimore ... one variety, not two.

I believe the cross was thus: Indiana Baltimore x (Rutgers x L. hirsutum P. I. 126445)F1.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...81/pdf/206.pdf

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

If others want 97L97, IM me and I'll see what I can do. Just don't expect to eat it fresh. The flavor is best described as sour/tart/bitter. But it does make a nice addition to salsa for the same reasons that lemons make good lemonade.DarJones

Gold. Salsa. PM sent.
Dutch

[Wi-sunflower]

Dutch,

If you want a gold or orange salsa, Roughwood Golden Plum or Italian Gold are 2 dwarf roma varieties that actually taste good. I made a beautiful orange tomato juice from Roughwood the other year. It even tasted good to me and I don't care for tomato juice.

Carol