A familiar pantry ingredient may offer more than flavor. A small study found that eating roughly two tablespoons of tomato paste each day was linked to modestly better performance on tests measuring concentration, processing speed and associative memory.

Researchers in Spain examined whether dietary lycopene, the naturally occurring red pigment in tomatoes and other fruits, may be associated with cognitive function. Lycopene has antioxidant properties and is found in pink and red produce.

The study included 42 healthy adults between the ages of 40 and 55. Each participant spent three months following two different diets, with a one month washout period separating the phases.

During the diet low in lycopene, participants continued their usual eating habits but avoided foods such as tomatoes. During the tomato paste phase, they consumed 0.5 grams of tomato paste per kilogram of body weight each day.

That daily amount averaged about 35 grams, or approximately two tablespoons. The tomato paste was consumed for three months before researchers evaluated the participants’ performance on several measures of cognitive function.

After the tomato paste phase, participants scored an average of 7.2 points higher on a test of concentration. They also scored 8.3 points higher for processing speed and 0.8 points higher on a test that involved matching faces with names.

The trial used a randomized crossover design, which meant each participant served as his or her own comparison. Researchers evaluated the same people before and after the period of daily tomato paste consumption.

Blood tests also showed what the researchers described as a borderline increase in BDNF. The protein is involved in the growth and adaptability of brain cells.

Researchers also conducted brain scans in a small subset of participants. Those scans showed changes in resting connectivity, a measure of how different brain regions work together when someone is not concentrating on a particular task.

The observed pattern could point to more efficient communication within the brain, according to the researchers. However, the small number of participants means the findings do not establish a meaningful brain benefit.

Published in the journal Antioxidants earlier this year, the study did not demonstrate that tomato paste prevents cognitive decline or disease. Researchers called the results preliminary and said larger studies are necessary to examine how tomato foods rich in lycopene may affect the brain.

Dr. John Showalter, a Pennsylvania internal medicine physician and chief operating officer of Linus Health, said the small trial fits within a broader body of research supporting naturally red foods in the diet. He highlighted the results from the phase in which participants restricted lycopene.

Showalter told Fox News Digital that the diet low in lycopene may offer the study’s most telling comparison. Rather than establishing tomato paste as a standalone cognitive enhancer, he said the results suggest that limiting foods rich in lycopene may leave the brain functioning less effectively.

“We know that people that have low lycopene levels have a higher mortality rate, they have more cardiovascular events and there's been increasing literature that low lycopene is bad for your brain,” Showalter said.

Tomatoes are not the only dietary source of lycopene. Showalter said watermelon, papaya and red peppers also contain the pigment, while cooked and concentrated tomato products can supply particularly high amounts.

Those concentrated foods include ketchup and tomatoes dried in the sun. The study specifically tested tomato paste, rather than the other foods Showalter identified as sources of lycopene.

The findings offer an early look at a possible relationship between concentrated tomato foods and certain measures of cognitive performance. Researchers emphasized that the limited sample prevents broad conclusions, and they said larger studies are needed to clarify whether foods rich in lycopene can support cognitive health.