TOMATINE CONTENT IN HOST AND TRANSGENIC TOMATOES BY ABSORPTIOMETRIC MEASUREMENT

Tomatine is a steroidal glycoalkaloid in tomato plants (Lycopersicon e sculentum) and other Lycopersicon and Solanum Species. Tomatine is use d as an indicator to evaluate the safety of transgenic tomatoes by FDA in U.S.A. We have developed a facile and rapid method for absorptiome tric measurement of the tomatine content, This method was used to meas ure the tomatine content of Fruits of a transgenic tomato cultivar (Ly copersicon esculentum) which contained an antisense polygalacturonase gene (anti-PG). We found that the tomatine content in the fruits of tr ansgenic and non-transgenic tomatoes was very similar. The data were a lso compared with those of other tomato cultivars, ''KAGOME 77'' (L. e sculentum) and ''KAGOME 88'' (L. esculentum).