Changes in esculeoside A content in different regions of the tomato fruit during maturation and heat processing.

We previously demonstrated that esculeogenin A, a new aglycone of the tomato sapogenol esculeoside A, inhibits both acyl coenzyme A:cholesterol acyl-transferase (ACAT)-1 and -2 and ameliorates the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis in apoE deficient mice. Although we believe that daily intake of esculeoside A from tomato products can play a beneficial role in preventing the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, the compound is not being used for preventive medicine due to the lack of information on methods for quantitative analysis and the content and stability of the compound in tomato products. In the present study, we report the development of a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method using an instrument equipped with a refractive index (RI) detector for esculeoside A quantification.