In Vitro Insights into the Antifungal, Prebiotic, and Cytotoxic Potential of Tomato Plant Waste.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study aims to screen the extracts of tomato plant waste (aerial parts-mixture of leaves, stems, and bunches resulting from tomato crop maintenance, and axillary shoots-resulting from pruning practices) and evaluate their antifungal, prebiotic, and cytotoxic effects. METHODS: A phytochemical profiling was performed to analyze volatile and semi-volatile compounds by GC-MS, functional groups by FTIR, soluble sugars by HPLC-RI, and glycoalkaloids by LC-MS/MS. Tomato plant waste extracts were further tested in vitro, and their biological effects were assessed with probiotic microorganisms (Enterococcus faecium ATCC 19434, Enterococcus faecium VL43, Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 8014, and Lactobacillus plantarum GM3) to determine their prebiotic-like properties, particularly after demonstrating strong antifungal activity against several Candida species, such as Candida albicans ATCC 10231, Candida parapsilosis ATCC 22019, Candida glabrata ATCC 64677, and Candida auris 6328. The extracts were also evaluated for the cytotoxic effect against HEP-G2, HeLa, and HT-29 cell lines, while cytotoxicity assays confirmed no significant effects on the normal HEK-293 cell line compared to the control. RESULTS: The in vitro antimicrobial activity and prebiotic-like substrate assay proved the difference between extract effects against Candida species (C. glabrata-MIC 125 µg/mL) and, respectively, the influence on Lactobacillus strains growth (up to a 1.6-fold increase in OD600). Furthermore, they exhibited selective cytotoxicity against HEP-G2, HeLa, and HT-29 cancer cell lines, while showing no significant toxicity on normal HEK-293 cells. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this research highlights tomato axillary shoots as a sustainable source of bioactive compounds, with potential applications in developing natural, plant-based prebiotic products that exhibit antifungal and antitumor activity. This research focuses on developing natural, plant-based prebiotic products with antifungal and cytotoxic effects.