MEASUREMENT OF TOMATINE CONTENT IN TOMATO ES WITH BIOASSAY PROCEDURE

A bioassay procedure of tomatine was examined with animal cell culture s. To detect tomatine, cytotoxicity assay procedures were applied. Cel l lines of HepG 2, HuH 6 KK and NIH 3 T 3 were suitable for this purpo se, but those of HL 60 and U 937 were not. As cytotoxicity detection p rocedure, alamar blue reduction, chemiluminescence, MTT reduction, WST -1 reduction and others were examined. The combination of HepG 2 cell and chemiluminescence method was more suitable for detecting tomatine than any other ones. It took for 75 min to detect tomatine, and the de tection limit was 2.5 mg/kg fresh weight. From unripe tomato, 353 mg/k g of tomatine was detected. From ripe tomato, 5.42 mg/kg of tomatine w as detected. Tomatine content decreased as tomato fruit became ripe. W ild type tomatoes such as L. hirsutum and L. peruvianum showed high to matine contents. Tomatoes and tomato products on the market showed low tomatine contents. A tomato, introduced tobacco mosaic virus resistan t factor with genetic engineering, was planted and its tomatine conten ts was determined. The tomatine content of the recombinant tomato was the same level as that of its host tomato.