Tomatine (TMT)

Tomatine is a toxic glycoalkaloid found in the stems and leaves of tomato plants, which has fungicidal properties. Chemically pure tomatine is a white crystalline solid at standard temperature and pressure. Some microbes produce an enzyme called tomatinase which can degrade tomatine, rendering it ineffective as an antimicrobial.Tomatine has been used as a reagent in analytical chemistry for precipitating cholesterol from solution. Also, tomatine is known to be an immune adjuvant in connection with certain protein antigens. Tomato plants ( Lycopersicon esculentum ) synthesize the glycoalkaloids dehydrotomatine and alpha-tomatine, possibly as a defense against bacteria, fungi, viruses, and insects. Six green and three red tomato extracts were investigated for their ability to induce cell death in human cancer and normal cells using a microculture tetrazolium (MTT) assay.