Scientists at Cornell University in the United States identified two compounds within tomatoes that demonstrated potent antibacterial properties in a series of cell experiments.

Led by microbiologist Jeongmin Song at Cornell University, the research team focused on Salmonella a genus of intestinal bacteria that invade the gut and often cause food poisoning.

Specifically, the team centered its research on a single serotype, Salmonella Typhi the causative agent of typhoid fever, which lives only in humans and triggers typhoid fever when it enters the bloodstream from the intestines and spreads through the body. Science Alert reported this finding, based on a publication in the scientific journal "Microbiology Spectrum."

Proper food handling and storage, along with antibiotics, can help people avoid food poisoning from Salmonella. However, typhoid fever remains a significant public health problem in many parts of the world where access to clean water, sanitation, or typhoid vaccines is lacking.

Salmonella spreads from person to person via contaminated food and water, with children being the most vulnerable. In 2016, Pakistan experienced the world's first extensive outbreak of drug-resistant typhoid, which, eight years later, still concerns infectious disease experts about the possibility of it leading to regional or global epidemics if not controlled.

A 2023 study conducted in 64 countries found that nearly half of children under two years of age do not eat any fruits or vegetables in their diet.

"Our main goal in this study was to determine if tomatoes and their juice could kill intestinal pathogens, including Salmonella Typhi, and if so, what attributes they possess to be effective," explains Song.

In these experiments, Salmonella Typhi cultured in the lab was killed after being exposed to fresh tomato juice for 24 hours.

Researchers perused the tomato genome (Solanum lycopersicum) for genes encoding small proteins called peptides that may function as antimicrobial agents.

Among four primary candidates, the team identified two antimicrobial peptides capable of inhibiting the growth of Salmonella Typhi and even killing strains resistant to ciprofloxacin the primary antibiotic used to treat typhoid fever.

Finally, researchers designed a model of the two primary candidate peptides and simulated their interactions with bacterial cell membranes.

As predicted by the modeling, within just 45 minutes, the peptides tore through the cell membranes of Salmonella Typhi.

In other tests, the compounds also killed Salmonella Typhimurium, a non-typhoidal strain of Salmonella, which causes non-lethal food poisoning.

Considering these are only cell experiments, the study's results are not a call to indulge excessively in tomato juice; no single food can perform miracles on its own. Instead, the study underscores public health messages encouraging people to eat tomatoes as part of a balanced diet that includes plenty of other fruits and vegetables, provided they are prepared in healthy and hygienic ways; this could help avoid diseases and food poisoning.