Investigating the Impact of Vitamin D Biofortified Tomatoes on Serum Levels of 25(OH)D

Summary

In the UK, vitamin D deficiency occurs frequently especially during the winter months. Vitamin D biofortified tomatoes have been developed using precision breeding technique by researchers at John Innes Centre. Biofortification uses crop breeding to increase the nutritional value of crops. The goal of the ViTaL-D study is to examine whether the vitamin D biofortified tomatoes when eaten as a soup can increase blood levels of vitamin D in men and women with vitamin D deficiency. Additionally, researchers will learn if the tomato soups are feasible and safe to eat everyday. The main questions the study aims to answer are:

* Does vitamin D biofortified tomatoes increase vitamin D levels in men and women with low blood levels of vitamin D?
* Is consuming vitamin D biofortified tomatoes safe and easy to eat everyday as a soup?

Researchers will compare how four types of tomato soup increase blood vitamin D levels. The four types of soup are:

* Soup with vitamin D biofortified tomatoes
* Soup with provitamin D biofortified tomatoes
* Soup with store-bought tomatoes not containing vitamin D
* Soup with store-bought tomatoes with added vitamin D

Participants will:

* Eat one of the four types of tomato soup every day for 21 days.
* Visit the clinic once every 7 days after a 12 hour fast for body measurements, tests, and surveys.
* Keep a daily diary when soups are eaten and when time is spent outside.

Conditions

• Vitamin D Insufficiency

Interventions

OTHER

Precision Bred Provitamin D-rich Tomato Soup

Participants will consume one tomato soup every day for 21 days as part of their normal diet.

OTHER

Precision Bred Vitamin D-rich Tomato Soup

Participants will consume one tomato soup everyday for 21-days as part of their normal diet.

OTHER

Wild-type (store-bought) Tomato Soup

Participants will consume one tomato soup every day for 21 days as part of their normal diet.

OTHER

Wild-type (store-bought) Tomato with vitamin D supplementation Soup

Participants will consume one tomato soup everyday for 21 days as part of their normal diet.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Surrey

  collaborator OTHER

• John Innes Centre

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  collaborator OTHER

• NIHR Norfolk Clinical Research Facility

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Quadram Institute Bioscience

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Martin Warren, PhD · Quadram Institute Bioscience

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-09-01

Primary Completion

2027-04-30

Completion

2028-03-31

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations