ABSTRACT
It has been suggested that intake of some nutrients may be related to the anticancer properties of saliva. Furthermore, epidemiological studies have suggested that tomatoes may protect against carcinogenesis. In this research, we investigated the effect of a period of daily tomato juice drinking on the anticancer properties of saliva. Of the 22 healthy male university students we recruited, 11 drank 3 cans (570 g) per day (morning, noon, and night) of tomato juice for 10 d (tomato-juice-drinking group). Saliva samples were collected immediately before and after this period of thrice daily consumption of tomato juice, and 3 d after the end. The anticancer properties of the saliva samples were determined using the umu test. The tomato-juice-drinking group showed a significant increase in the anticancer properties of saliva after drinking tomato juice for 10 d (p < 0.05). This increase, however, did not persist to 3 d later. The control group showed no such change. These findings suggest that consumption of tomato juice increases the anticancer properties of saliva and that a persistent effect of tomato consumption on the anticancer properties of saliva can be maintained only by regular consumption.
