Tomato power

VITAL SIGNS

Tomato power

Tomatoes are well known to be a useful food because of their high vitamin C content. Now researchers at the University of Keele, Staffordshire, believe they may help to protect against some cancers - because of their colour. Professor George Truscott, head of the chemistry department, thinks that lycopene, the pigment that turns tomatoes red, can protect cells from nitrogen dioxide, which is found in cigarette smoke and diesel fumes.