Scientists say a natural supplement made from tomatoes, taken daily, can stave off heart disease and strokes.

The tomato pill contains an active ingredient from the Mediterranean diet - lycopene - that blocks "bad" LDL cholesterol that can clog the arteries.

Ateronon, made by a biotechnology spin-out company of Cambridge University, is being launched as a dietary supplement and will be sold on the high street.

Experts said more trials were needed to see how effective the treatment is.

Preliminary trials involving around 150 people with heart disease indicate that Ateronon can reduce the oxidation of harmful fats in the blood to almost zero within eight weeks, a meeting of the British Cardiovascular Society will be told at Ateronon's launch on Monday.

Our advice to heart disease patients or those at high risk is to rely on proven medications prescribed by their doctor, and aim to get the benefits of a Mediterranean diet by eating plenty of fresh fruit and veg
Professor Peter Weissberg of the British Heart Foundation

Neuroscientist Peter Kirkpatrick, who will lead a further research project at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge on behalf of Cambridge Theranostics Ltd, said the supplement could be much more effective than statin drugs that are currently used by doctors to treat high cholesterol.

But Professor Peter Weissberg of the British Heart Foundation said: "As always, we caution people to wait for any new drug or modified 'natural' product to be clinically proven to offer benefits before taking it.

"It will take some time, and several clinical trials, to provide such evidence for Ateronon.

"In the meantime, our advice to heart disease patients or those at high risk is to rely on proven medications prescribed by their doctor, and aim to get the benefits of a Mediterranean diet by eating plenty of fresh fruit and veg."

He said the British Heart Foundation had supported some of the basic science at Cambridge University underpinning the development of the product.

Professor Anthony Leeds, trustee of the cholesterol charity Heart UK, said: "The new lycopene product Ateronon represents an entirely new approach to the treatment of high blood cholesterol and opens up the exciting possibility."

He said the preliminary findings were "very promising".

Lycopene is an antioxidant contained in the skin of tomatoes which gives them their red colour. But lycopene ingested in its natural form is poorly absorbed.

Ateronon contains a refined, more readily absorbed version of lycopene that was originally developed by Nestle.

Dr Peter Coleman of The Stroke Association said: "We know that diets rich in antioxidants are beneficial in reducing the plaque build up and welcome the findings of this research."

科学家报道每天服用由番茄做成的一种天然的膳食补充剂，可以避免心脏病和中风

该番茄片含有地中海饮食-番茄红素的活性成分，它能阻碍能堵塞动脉的“坏”的低密度脂蛋白胆固醇。

Ateronon，是由剑桥大学的生物技术子公司研制的，作为一种膳食补充剂上市出售。

专家称还需要做很多的实验来研究这种治疗的有效性。

150例心脏病患者的临床试验显示Ateronon可以在8周内将血液中的有害的油脂的氧化物减少到零。

神经科学家Peter Kirkpatrick，将会在剑桥的Addenbrooke医院开展进一步的研究，他说这种补充剂可能会比目前临床上使用的治疗高胆固醇的斯达汀更有效。

但是英国心脏基金会的皮特教授说：“我们提醒人们在服用新药或者所谓的天然的产品前要有临床的足够证明，来证实有诸多好处。”

“对于Ateronon来说，这方面的证明还需要时间来做大量的临床试验。”

“同时，我们建议心脏病患者和那些高危人群服用医生开的药品，并且多吃新鲜的水果和蔬菜。”

他说英国心脏基金会支持剑桥大学对于该产品的基础性研究。

Anthony Leeds教授，胆固醇英国慈善机构的l理事说：“新的番茄红素产品-Ateronon 代表着治疗高胆固醇病的新途径，开启了希望之门。”他说：“初步的结果是可喜得。”

番茄红素是一种抗氧化剂，存在于番茄的外皮，使番茄呈现红色。但是，人体对番茄红素的天然的形式吸收较差。Ateronon 中含有精致的更易吸收的番茄红素的形式，这个最初是由雀巢公司研制的。

中风协会的Peter Coleman 教授说：“我们知道富含抗氧化剂的食物有利于减少牙菌斑，同时接受这篇研究的结果。”