## Results and Discussion
### Colour Measurement and Lycopene Content  
Colour changes during tomato ripening have been studied using specific parameters, such as L*, a*, b* and Hue, through the Hunter colour scale values. The lightness factor L* and the a* values were constant during storage for both PdP and CIL (see Table 2). These parameters are correlated with the lycopene concentration [23] and they could also be related to the stability of lycopene itself during storage. The values of b* and a/b ratio were constant in PdP, while they significantly (\(p<0.05\)) decreased in CIL during ripening, reflecting the loss of \(\beta\)-carotene in the latter case. The hue, which is the actual colour (for example, red, yellow, blue, etc. ), remained constant in PdP (0.64 and 0.67 in PdP0 and PdP6, respectively) and decreased from 1.00 to 0.67 in CIL. Tomatoes are usually selected by consumers on the basis of appearance; hence colour is one of the most important quality factors that affect tomato appearance [24]. Tomato fruits can exhibit different external colours such as red, yellow, orange and pink as the result of both flesh and skin colours. Thus, a pink tomato may be due to colourless skin and red flesh, while an orange tomato may be due to yellow skin and red flesh [25]. Red tomato fruits as well as other types of Italian long-storage tomatoes are characterized by the presence of a thick and coriaceous skin. Therefore, it is possible that the external colour of red tomato fruits is strongly affected by their skin colour. Among the carotenoids contained in tomatoes, lycopene is the most abundant, being present in a range from 6 to 540 mg/kg and depending on several factors related to cultural practices, variety and maturity [26]. [PERSON] et al. [13] commented that the regular consumption of tomatoes has been associated with decreased risk of chronic degenerative diseases. Epidemiological findings confirm \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Sample** & **L** & **a** & **B** & **a/b** & **Hue** &
\begin{tabular}{c} **Lycopene (mg/kg** \\ **Fresh Weight**) \\ \end{tabular} \\ \hline
**PdP 0** & 42.66 \({}^{\pm}\) 0.51 & 23.08 \({}^{\pm}\) 0.86 & 19.88 \({}^{\pm}\) 0.95 & 1.17 \({}^{\pm}\) 0.04 & 0.64 \({}^{\pm}\) 0.03 & 73.52 \({}^{\pm}\) 7.40 \\
**PdP 6** & 42.02 \({}^{\pm}\) 1.35 & 23.07 \({}^{\pm}\) 0.21 & 20.49 \({}^{\pm}\) 1.60 & 1.13 \({}^{\pm}\) 0.04 & 0.67 \({}^{\pm}\) 0.04 & 43.32 \({}^{\pm}\) 3.10 \\
**CIL 0** & 38.33 \({}^{\mathrm{b}}\) \(\pm\) 0.60 & 14.95 \({}^{\mathrm{b}}\) \(\pm\) 0.91 & 18.62 \({}^{\pm}\) 0.63 & 0.80 \({}^{\mathrm{b}}\) \(\pm\) 0.01 & 1.00 \({}^{\mathrm{a}}\) \(\pm\) 0.00 & 27.14 \({}^{\mathrm{b}}\) \(\pm\) 0.69 \\
**CIL 1** & 37.64 \({}^{\mathrm{b}}\) 0.69 & 12.68 \({}^{\mathrm{b}}\) 0.88 & 11.11 \({}^{\mathrm{b}}\) 0.88 & 1.14 \({}^{\pm}\) 0.14 & 0.67 \({}^{\mathrm{b}}\) \(\pm\) 0.09 & 32.39 \({}^{\mathrm{b}}\) \(\pm\) 0.93 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* a-b: different letters in the same column correspond to significant differences (\(p<0.05\)).  
\end{table} 
Table 2: Colour readings and lycopene content (mean \(\pm\) standard deviation) in tomato samples. that the observed health effects are due to the presence of different antioxidant molecules such as carotenoids, particularly, lycopene, ascorbic acid, vitamin E and phenol compounds, mainly flavonoids. In Table 2 are shown the lycopene amounts detected in the samples analysed. In particular, in PdP samples at 0 and 6 months of storage, the detected concentration of this bioactive compound was 73.52 and 43.32 mg/kg, respectively, whereas in CIL0 and CIL1 samples the concentrations of lycopene were 21.14 and 32.39 mg/kg, respectively. A more detailed examination of the data in Table 2 shows that the lycopene content detected in the CIL variety is statistically lower than that one detected in PdP. Additionally, during the storage period, the concentration of lycopene remained constant in CIL samples, while it significantly decreased from 73.52 to 43.32 mg/kg (44.05%) in PdP.