{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,6]],"date-time":"2026-03-06T18:27:19Z","timestamp":1772821639969,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,30]],"date-time":"2025-09-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1759190400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100019465","name":"Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100019465","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"German Federal Ministry of Education and Research","award":["01DL20003"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["01DL20003"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.mdpi.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Tomato leaves, typically discarded during harvest, are a rich yet underutilized source of bioactive compounds. This study aimed to valorize tomato leaves by optimizing the extraction of their phenolic compounds using a water-based method and response surface methodology. The optimal conditions, notably heating a mixture of 1:50 solid-to-liquid ratio at 71 \u00b0C for 29 min, yielded the most total phenolic content and antioxidant activity. The biological activities of the lyophilized tomato leaf extract (TLE) were then assessed. TLE showed dose-dependent antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Candida albicans, but neither against Pseudomonas aeruginosa nor Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, it demonstrated moderate cytotoxicity against MCF-7 breast cancer cells with an IC50 value of 114.5 \u00b5g\/mL. Interestingly, the extract significantly reduced intracellular reactive oxygen species levels in RAW 264.7 macrophages, supporting its anti-inflammatory potential. LC-MS analysis identified rutin (45.21%), 4-hydroxycoumarin (13.60%), and \u03b1-tomatine (12.37%) as the major chemical constituents in TLE, suggesting contributing effects behind the observed bioactivities. These results support the potential of tomato leaf extract as an eco-friendly source for functional ingredients, transforming agricultural waste through green extraction into valuable applications for nutraceuticals and sustainable product development.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods14193383","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,30]],"date-time":"2025-09-30T08:21:51Z","timestamp":1759220511000},"page":"3383","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Valorization of Tomato Leaves: Optimization of Eco-Friendly Phenolic Extraction and Assessment of Biological Activities"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Layan","family":"Helmi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Beirut Arab University, Beirut 1107 2809, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7817-1390","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Suhair","family":"Sunoqrot","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, Amman 11733, Jordan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Samah","family":"Abusulieh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, Amman 11733, Jordan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4257-7310","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rawan","family":"Huwaitat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, Amman 11733, Jordan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1637-7518","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Esp\u00e9rance","family":"Debs","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of Balamand, Tripoli 1300, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Salma","family":"Khazaal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Beirut Arab University, Tarik El Jedidah, Riad EL Solh, Beirut 1107 2809, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0679-2267","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammad H.","family":"El-Dakdouki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Beirut Arab University, Riad El Solh, Beirut 1107 2809, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5645-5926","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nicolas","family":"Louka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre d\u2019Analyses et de Recherche, Unit\u00e9 de Recherche Technologies et Valorisation Agro-Alimentaire, Facult\u00e9 des Sciences, Universit\u00e9 Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth, Mar Roukos, Dekwaneh, Riad El Solh, Beirut 1107 2050, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6568-5536","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nada","family":"El Darra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Beirut Arab University, Tarik El Jedidah, Riad EL Solh, Beirut 1107 2809, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"123","DOI":"10.61180\/vegsci.2022.v49.i2.01","article-title":"Tomato Breeding for Processing in India: Current Status and Prospects","volume":"49","author":"Tiwari","year":"2022","journal-title":"Veg. 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