2.1. Preparation of tomato juice samples
Fresh tomatoes were purchased from a local fruit market (Begley’s
Marketing Services Ltd., Dublin 7, Ireland) and subsequently
stored at 3 ± 1 C and crushed using a domestic juice extractor
(Kenstar, Dublin, Ireland). Juice was filtered on a double layer of
cheese cloth to remove seeds and pulp from the juice. Crushing
of tomatoes, juice extraction and filtration were performed in a
cold room maintained at 3 ± 1 C. Juice obtained was frozen at
25 C. Frozen juice samples were processed within one month
of juice preparation.
2.