| Abstract
| - Tomatoes, a major food source for humans, accumulate a variety of secondary metabolites includingphenolic compounds, phytoalexins, protease inhibitors, and glycoalkaloids. These metabolites protectagainst adverse effects of hosts of predators including fungi, bacteria, viruses, and insects. Becauseglycoalkaloids are reported to be involved in host-plant resistance, on the one hand, and to have avariety of pharmacological and nutritional properties in animals and humans, on the other, a needexists to develop a better understanding of the role of these compounds both in the plant and in thediet. To contribute to this effort, this integrated review presents data on the history, composition, andnutrition of tomatoes, with special focus on the assessment of the chemistry, analysis, composition,nutrition, microbiology, and pharmacology of the tomato glycoalkaloids comprising α-tomatine anddehydrotomatine; their content in different parts of the tomato plant, in processed tomato products,and in wild and transgenic tomatoes; their biosynthesis, inheritance, metabolism, and catabolism;plant−microbe relationships with fungi, bacteria, viruses, insects, and worms; interactions withergosterol and cholesterol; disruption of cell membranes; tomatine-induced tomatinases, pantothenatesynthetase, steroid hydroxylases, and cytokines; and inhibition of acetylcholinesterase. Also coveredare tomato−human pathogen relationships and tomatine-induced lowering of plasma cholesterol andtriglycerides and enhancement of the immune system. Further research needs in each of these areasare suggested. The overlapping aspects are discussed in terms of general concepts for a betterunderstanding of the impact of tomato glycoalkaloids in the plant in general and in food in particular.Such an understanding can lead to the creation of improved tomatoes and to improved practices onthe farm and in the consumption of tomatoes. Keywords: α-Tomatine; β1-tomatine; β2-tomatine; γ-tomatine; δ-tomatine; dehydrotomatine; tomatidine;tomatidenol; lycopene; tomatoes; transgenic tomatoes; chemistry; analysis; composition; biosynthesis;plant physiology; antibiotic effects; tomatinases; plant pathogens; host-plant resistance; diseaseresistance; bacteria; fungi; insects; viruses; protozoa; nutrition; cytochemistry; cell membrane structures;tomatine−cholesterol complex; cholesterol-lowering effects; human health; cancer chemotherapy; malariavaccine adjuvant
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