The consumption of tomatoes and tomato products has been associated with a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer. Tomatoes and tomato products provide a good source of antioxidants (lipophilic and hydrophilic). The major tomato antioxidants comprise lycopene, α-tocopherol and ascorbic acid. It has been reported that these antioxidants in isolated form exert directly or indirectly anti-inflammatory effects in vitro. Studies with tomatoes or tomato products revealed that the observed anti-inflammatory effects could not be caused by the presence of only one antioxidant. It was suggested that these effects were due to the combination of antioxidants.