Tomatoes are one of the most broadly produced and consumed crop plants. They are the source of health-promoting nutrients such as antioxidants, including ascorbic acid, polyphenols, or carotenoids. Despite the beneficial role of tomatoes in the daily diet, they have been confirmed as one of the most prevalent allergenic vegetables. Food allergies can cause many clinical symptoms, e.g., in the gastrointestinal tract, skin, and lungs, as well as anaphylactic shock. A huge amount of clinical research has been carried out to improve the understanding of the immunological mechanisms that lead to the lack of tolerance of food antigens, which can result in either immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated reactions or non-IgE-mediated reactions. Lifestyle and diet play an important role in triggering food allergies. Allergy to tomatoes is also linked to other allergies, such as grass pollen and latex allergy. Numerous attempts have been made to identify and characterize tomato allergens; however, the data available on the subject are not sufficient.

The agriculture sector faces numerous problems. One of the beforementioned problems relates to the proper crop plants’ fertilization. The conventional bulk fertilizers are becoming less effective and have a negative impact on the environment. Nanomaterials such as zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are widely used in various sectors such as medicine or electronics. Several studies indicate that nano-ZnO may likewise be considered as a potential nanofertilizer. In present research, an attempt was made to study the influence of two different sized ZnO NPs (<50 nm and <100 nm) on the seed germination of chosen tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) cultivars. The seeds of three cherry tomato cultivars were placed on a Petri dish with the NPs suspensions (0, 50, 150, and 250 mg/L) in order to examine the influence on germination parameters at a certain size of NPs and at a chosen concentration. In addition, within this study, we verified that the implicated conditions have the exact impact on all three cultivars. The obtained results indicate that all the factors affect the seed sprouting, however, this process mainly depends on the type of tomato cultivar and the size of the used nanoparticles. The parameter of the germination percentage (GP) was the only of the assumed factors that did not influence it significantly. Nevertheless, the values of other examined parameters such as the MGT, GRI, CVG, or VI depend strongly on all assumed features including the type of chosen cultivar. The obtained results vary significantly between all cultivars which indicates that the plants from the same family may require different conditions for optimal growth. In this research the <50 nm ZnO nanoparticles had more beneficial influence on sprouting parameters then parallelly used <100 nm ZnO nanoparticles.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most valuable horticulture crops, consumed in both its raw and processed forms. To increase yield and efficiency, conventional and organic fertilizers are utilized in modern agriculture. Traditional fertilizers increase crop yield but are harmful to the environment. These circumstances motivate the pursuit of an alternate solution. The purpose of this research was to investigate how the application of nanoparticles (nano-ZnO) combined with conventional fertilizer influence tomato plants’ development, including the antioxidant potential of cultivated plants. Three factors such as different types of cultivars, dosage of applied nano-ZnO solution and the method of nanoparticles application were implemented. Multiple analysis of selected antioxidants content and their activities such as malondialdehyde (MDA), flavonoids, polyphenols, ascorbic acid, peroxidase (POX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) or catalase (CAT) were analyzed. The obtained data exhibited that all examined parameters were strongly dependent on three implemented factors: concentration of nano-ZnO suspension, the type of cultivated tomato and the method of nanoparticles application. For instance, the accumulation of MDA in cultivated plants was different among plants under nanoparticles treatment, but in one specific case (Malinowy Bossman cultivar treated with 50 mg/L nano-ZnO suspension) the content of this marker was decreased by 34% in comparison to the corresponding control. Nevertheless, the results presented in this study showed that the usage of certain doses of nano-ZnO suspension may increase the antioxidant potential of tomato plants.

The use of nanoparticles in fertilisation has confirmed positive effects on plant growth and yield. Simultaneously, there is still little research into the effects of nanoparticles on the antioxidant system of plants. Due to the positive effect of nano zinc oxide on plants and the special property of nano zero-valent iron, these particles were selected for the research. The nano zero-valent iron is crucial for plants as it is present in agglomerations on the surface of roots where it increases the absorptive surface of the rhizosphere and causes elongation of the roots. The study aims to determine the influence of selected nanoparticles as a potential improvement for conventional fertilisation by magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N). After the cultivation, the influence of nanoparticles on the accumulation of macronutrients in plant tissues, biometric parameters, and physiological response (chlorophyll and antioxidant system) of radish (Raphanus sativus) were assessed. The solution used in this study helped to increase the content of nitrates (V) in radish roots by 31.7–73.2% compared to conventional fertilisation. Nevertheless, nanoparticles supplementation resulted in a decrease in the concentrations of magnesium, iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) in plants. The high dose of used fertilisers increased the thickness and length of tubers by approximately 50.0%, compared to the control samples. The “Macro 2 + nano” variant caused an increase of plant biomass up to 70.0%. The analysis of the antioxidant system showed that the application of macronutrients with nanoparticles increased the concentration of polyphenols in plant tubers by 46.0–55.6%. Interestingly, while implemented conditions caused a 1.5-fold increase in CAT activity in leaves, at the same time the decrease in CAT activity in plant roots was observed. Based on the obtained results of the enzymatic antioxidant system and biometric parameters of plants, it can be concluded that (in laboratory conditions) nZVI and nanoZnO are efficient components of fertilisers. However, the effects on other organisms must be investigated before implementing a method for widespread use.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), as one of the most valuable horticulture crops, was chosen to investigate the effect of nanoparticles (NPs) in the form of nano-ZnO combined with conventional fertilizer on the quality of tomato fruits, including their antioxidant potential (total antioxidant activity, lycopene and β-carotene content), sugars content and allergenic potential (profilin and Bet v 1 content). Nano-ZnO was implemented during plant cultivation, applied by foliar spraying or directly via soil, at three different concentrations (50, 150 and 250 mg/L). The obtained results suggest that the usage of NPs during tomato plant cultivation had minor impacts on parameters such as total antioxidant activity or the content of selected allergens. Even though the total antioxidant activity was not affected by nano-ZnO, the malondialdehyde activity (MDA) content was notably decreased in fruits under nano-ZnO treatment. The content of lycopene and β-carotene was significantly affected by the use of nano-ZnO. Moreover, the usage of nano-ZnO significantly increased the total sugar content in fruits treated with nanoparticles via foliar spraying. Based on the obtained results, it can be stated that nano-ZnO, regardless of the method of application, significantly affected tomato fruits which can be beneficial for fruit production.