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Tomatoes and Parkinson’s disease – an old hypothesis revisited

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In 1989, Jacob I. Sage proposed that tomatoes might contribute to the aetiology of Parkinson’s disease (PD). At the time, his hypothesis mainly served as a provocative “tongue-in-cheek” illustration of the complex challenges that come with identifying the true cause for a globally occurring disease that emerged as a largely new condition in the early 19th century. We here discuss why this hypothesis may have been less far-fetched than originally thought, using some circumstantial and observational evidence to underpin this idea. Specifically, growing evidence suggests that pesticide exposure is a relevant risk factor for PD and some seemingly neurotoxic pesticides are used to grow tomatoes. The number of pesticides used agriculturally, including on tomatoes, has increased in the past decades. Also, the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease seems to grow fastest in countries with the highest growth in tomato production. We fully acknowledge the speculative nature of our hypothesis, and that the provided circumstantial evidence by no means proves that tomatoes, and specifically pesticide application on tomato crops, are an actual cause of Parkinson’s disease. We do hope to raise further awareness for the notion that the global increase in the use of pesticides, compounded by a potential for cumulative neurotoxic effects due to exposure to mixtures of environmental chemicals, could exacerbate the global rise in PD, highlighting the need for improved risk assessments and preventative measures.

Source: Medical Hypotheses

DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2025.111836

Authors: Jolien S. Bogers, Kimberly C. Paul, E. Ray Dorsey, Bastiaan R. Bloem