Tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum ) seeds: new flavonols and cytotoxic effect.

In this study, seeds of Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. were analyzed by HPLC/UV-PAD/MS(n)-ESI. Fourteen flavonoids were identified, including quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin derivatives, with 13 of them being reported for the first time in tomato seeds. The major identified compounds were quercetin-3-O-sophoroside, kaempferol-3-O-sophoroside, and isorhamnetin-3-O-sophoroside. A significant cell proliferation inhibition (>80%), against rat basophile leukemia (RBL-2H3) cell line, was observed with this extract (IC(50) = 5980 microg/mL). For acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity, a concentration-dependent effect was verified (IC(20) = 2400 microg/mL). The same behavior was noted regarding antioxidant capacity, evaluated against DPPH (IC(10) = 284 microg/mL), nitric oxide (IC(25) = 396 microg/L), and superoxide radicals (IC(25) = 3 microg/mL).