A pill of tomato for a heart of iron

A pill of tomato for a heart of iron

A new pill containing the antioxidant benefits of the typical Mediterranean diet based on tomatoes, may be a solution without side effects for a heart of iron as a biotechnology laboratory in Cambridge ( Great Britain).

"Ateronon", whose main ingredient is lycopene, an antioxidant component of tomatoes which protects the heart, was filed this week in Barcelona (Spain) during the congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

"We know that the Mediterranean diet is beneficial in reducing blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and the key element is the tomato," a professor of pharmacology at the University of Cambridge, Ian Wilkinson, whose work is funded by the British Heart.

Scientists have managed to reduce the size of lycopene molecules so they can be easily absorbed by the body.



Until now, tests to check and investigate the properties of this pill that its discoverers considered revolutionary, the first product to be the world's natural antioxidant that protects the heart, have been very positive.

Its creators, the Cambridge biotech company Theranostics Limited (CTL), has conducted clinical trials on 150 people with heart disease.

These investigations have shown that, besides preventing fatty buildup in artery walls, in just eight weeks treatment also destroys the fat already accumulated.

The president of CTL, Gunter Schmidt, said: "We are confident that Ateronon have very beneficial effects in patients with circulatory and cardiac problems.

I have been very promising research in this direction, by teams from Cambridge University in England, and Harvard Medical School, United States, according to CTL.

In Catania (Italy), heart disease specialists conducted trials in which up to 10,000 patients will participate throughout the year.

For treatment to be effective only need to take a pill a day and, according to Schmidt, improvements in cardiovascular function are visible three months after taking the first dose of "Ateronon.