Tomato juice (Lycopersicum commune) reduces blood pressure in elderly hypertensive Indonesians in Kulisusu, North Buton

Abstract

Background and Objective: Hypertension is the third leading cause of death in Indonesia, accounting for 6.7% of all age deaths. Hypertension is closely linked to the risk of various complications. Serious hypertension related complications require appropriate treatments. This study investigated the effects of tomato juice (Lycopersicum commune) consumption on systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure in elderly hypertension patients at the Kulisusu Public Health Center of North Buton, Indonesia. Materials and Methods: This randomised controlled feeding study enrolled 28 elderly hypertension (systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg) patients, who were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The treatment group received tomato juice (prepared by blending 150 g of tomatoes with 50 mL of water and 2 g of dietary sugar) for 7 days, while the control group received nutritional education on a balanced diet. An independent sample t-test was performed to test between group differences. Analysis of covariance and SPSS was used to analyze the data. Results: The median age of the participants was 67 years (64.3% women) and most participants had a normal nutritional status, as demonstrated by the median BMI value (18.91 kg m-2 ). These characteristics were comparable between groups at baseline. In the treatment group, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) measurements were significantly different after the intervention (p < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the treatment group showed a higher reduction in systolic blood pressure (8.59 mmHg, p < 0.05) and diastolic blood pressure (6.19 mmHg, p < 0.05) following the 7 day intervention with tomato juice. Conclusion: The findings indicate that tomato juice treatment effectively reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels in elderly Indonesians with hypertension.