Lycopene-A Scientific Overview,What is Lycopene and its sources,Actions and Pharmacology.Tomato Extract Lycopene

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More Lycopene Health Benefits.

Tomato Extract Lycopene Lycopersicum esculentum extract Natural Tomato Extract CAS:090131-63-8 502-65-8 photo picture image Many of the reported health benefits of lycopene are attributed to its ability to protect cells against oxidative damage. Although there has been less research focused on lycopene compared to other carotenoids, studies suggest that lycopene is a more potent scavenger of oxygen radicals than other major dietary carotenoids.

The basic science of lycopene is currently being established along with efforts toward evidence-based human intervention studies. Several studies have reported anticancer effects of lycopene in cell culture where lycopene has demonstrated antiproliferative effects.

Two large case-control studies have linked lycopene to reduced risk of digestive tract cancer. In northern Iran, where esophageal cancer is common, a case-control study found that weekly tomato consumption was associated with a 40% reduction in cancer risk. A recent case-control study in Italy found that consumption of seven or more servings of tomato products per week, compared to less than two servings per week, was associated with a 50% reduced risk of gastric cancer.

Lycopene is also associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer. A recently published large case-control study from Italy demonstrated a reduced colon cancer risk, an odds ratio of 0.49-0.68, for subjects consuming tomato product daily compared to those consuming tomato products on a weekly basis.

An inverse relationship between breast cancer and lycopene has also been observed. A recent case-control study in Boston examined the relationship between lycopene in breast tissue and breast cancer risk. Studies in rats showed that rats treated with a lycopene-enriched tomato oleoresin developed fewer tumors and had smaller tumor volume than control rats.

Studies are exploring the link between lycopene and skin cancer. Results suggest the possibility that diets low in tomato products and lycopene could lead to reduced lycopene concentrations in the skin, placing a person at higher risk for sunlight-induced skin damage.

Several studies have also examined the relationship between prostate cancer and lycopene. One large prospective study was conducted on a cohort of Seventh Day Adventist men who completed a questionnaire in 1976 and were followed over a six-year period. Consumption of tomato products was significantly associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer. The relative risk was 0.60 for men who consumed tomatoes more than five times per week, compared to those who consumed less than one serving per week. Another study, the largest, most comprehensive study evaluating prostate cancer risk and lycopene, studied a large cohort of men who completed a 131-item questionnaire in 1986 and every few years after. Men who had higher estimated lycopene in their diets had lower risk for prostate cancer. A risk reduction of 35% was observed for men who consumed 10 or more servings of tomato products per week compared to less than 1.5 servings per week. Interestingly, tomato sauce accounted for the strongest reduction in risk for any one specific food item.

The relationship between lycopenes and cardiovasular disease is also being studied. Scientists hypothesize that lycopene can positively influence cholesterol metabolism because of its antioxidant properties. Researchers suggest that lycopene may be able to moderately lower cholesterol levels.

The Mediterranean diet:

Researchers are realizing that the cancer-preventive effects of the Mediterranean diet, which have been attributed to olive oil, may in fact be due to lycopene. Italian researchers have pointed out that it is very difficult to separate the effect of tomatoes from olive oil because they are so intertwined in the diet. Lycopene's cancer protection is in part due to its antioxidant protection. But some studies show that it may also modulate immunity, inhibit angiogenesis and affect hormones.
Tomato Extract Lycopene Lycopersicum esculentum extract Natural Tomato Extract CAS:090131-63-8 502-65-8 photo picture image

Prostate cancer:

Just as lutein is concentrated in the macula, lycopene is concentrated in certain organs. The prostate gland is one of these organs. Researchers at the University of Bern report that lycopene plus vitamin E inhibits the growth of two different types of prostate cancer cells in the test tube. Lycopene by itself doesn't work. Several studies have linked lycopene with a lower risk of prostate cancer. One of these studies, the Washington County study, found that men with the most lycopene in their blood halved their risk of prostate cancer compared to those with the least. For those under 70 years old, the benefit was even greater. Two other studies have looked at the consumption of tomato products and found lower risk with higher consumption. Tomato sauce, as opposed to juice which had no effect, was the ticket to prostate health in one of the studies. Vitamin E has also been linked to a lower risk of prostate cancer.

Other studies have not shown a link between lycopene and prostate cancer. A study from England found no association between lycopene and prostate cancer risk, but report that beta-carotene is protective. These conflicting reports support the notion that the carotenes work both synergistically and in ways we don't understand. It has been shown, for example, that giving a dose of combined beta-carotene and lycopene increases the level of lycopene in the blood, but not beta-carotene. It has also been shown that different combinations of carotenoids provide different degrees of protection against free radicals. Vitamin E appears to be very important in enabling the carotenes biological actions. Lycopene, in turn, can be adversely affected by inadequate supplies of vitamin C and sulfur molecules such as N-acetylcysteine.

Cholesterol-lowering drugs deplete lycopene:

Lipids, too, play a role in whether the carotenes are effective. The carotenes are lipid soluble-they must have fat to be absorbed. It has been consistently demonstrated that foods with fat in them deliver more lycopene into the body than lycopene can manage on its own-olive oil delivers the lycopene in a tomato-based spaghetti sauce, the cheese in pizza makes the lycopene in the sauce absorbable.

Lycopene is carried in the blood by the lipoprotein molecule (LDL) that also carries cholesterol. Drugs that lower cholesterol can drastically interfere with the carotenes. In one study, cholestyramine (Questran) decreased lycopene by 30% in the blood. It also reduced beta-carotene by 40% and vitamin E by 7%. Probucol (Lorelco), another cholesterol-lowering drug, decreased lycopene by 30%, beta-carotene by 39%, and vitamin E by 14%. It took one to two years for levels of lycopene and beta-carotene to return to normal after Probucol. These are alarming findings, given that these vitamins give antioxidant protection to lipids, and oxidized lipids are thought to be a mechanism of heart disease. Although Probucol is, itself, an antioxidant, it showed no effect on heart disease in a trial of Swedish patients. In addition to its antioxidant-depleting effect, Probucol also lowers "good" HDL, and reduces lipoprotein size-both of which are associated with greater risk of heart disease.

The fake fat, Olestra is another chemical that depletes the carotenoids and vitamin A. Daily consumption of Olestra can reduce lycopene by 30% within a few months. High-fiber diets can also block the absorption of the carotenes if the carotenes are taken at the same time as the fiber.

Other parts of the body besides the prostate that accumulate lycopene are the adrenal glands, liver, colon and testes. Aging reduces levels of lycopene in the blood. Elderly people are consistently deficient in nutrients, including ones that interact with lycopene such as vitamins C and E.
Tomato Extract Lycopene Lycopersicum esculentum extract Natural Tomato Extract CAS:090131-63-8 502-65-8 photo picture image

Other cancers:

Several studies show a connection between lycopene and cancer prevention. Lycopene appears to be protective against cancer of the digestive tract. Several studies have found a lower risk for colorectal cancer in people who eat a lot of tomato products and/or have higher levels of lycopene in their blood. More direct evidence has been provided by researchers in China who did a study on colon cancer in rats. They found that tomato juice provided significant protection against a chemical carcinogen (N-methylnitrosourea). It's important to note, however, that pure lycopene did not. The authors of the study speculate that lycopene's action depends on other factors present in the juice that is missing in pure lycopene. Recent thinking in carotene research is that the carotenes are both interdependent and dependent on other vitamins and minerals, and this must be taken into account when studying them.

One of the largest and most important cancer/diet studies ever done shows the importance of the carotenes in digestive cancers. The study was begun in 1980 in Linxian, China. Linxian has one of the highest rates of esophageal and gastric cancer in the world. Its population also has subnormal levels of vitamins C, E, A, riboflavin and the carotenes. In an effort to see whether supplementation would cut the cancer rate, over twenty-nine thousand people were given four different nutrient combinations in the Linxian study. Four different combinations were tested: riboflavin, niacin; vitamin C, molybdenum; retinol, zinc; or beta-carotene, vitamin E, selenium. After five years, the results showed that the beta-carotene, E, selenium combination cut the cancer rate and overall mortality. The others did not. Reduction in risk began to occur one to two years after supplements were begun. It was also discovered that men who took the combination had a lower risk of stroke, and better immune response (this didn't occur in women for some reason).

Another cancer that may relate to lycopene is pancreatic. Researchers at Johns Hopkins tested the stored blood of twenty-two people with pancreatic cancer for levels of certain vitamins and selenium. (Blood was drawn before treatment). Lycopene and selenium levels were lower in patients than controls. While this is very preliminary, animal studies do show good effects against pancreatic cancer in animals treated with beta-carotene, selenium and vitamin C. In hamsters, palm carotene (which contains lycopene) inhibits pancreatic cancer.

Stops DNA damage:

One of the ways lycopene may work against cancer is by scavenging carcinogens from cooked meat. Heterocyclic amines are formed when meat is cooked, and contribute to cancer by causing DNA damage. People who eat a lot of well-done meat have an increased risk of colon and breast cancer.
Tomato Extract Lycopene Lycopersicum esculentum extract Natural Tomato Extract CAS:090131-63-8 502-65-8 photo picture image

Coronary heart disease:

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the primary causes of death in the Western world. The emphasis of research so far has been on the relationship between serum cholesterol levels and the risk of CHD. More recently, oxidative stress induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) is also considered to play an important part in the etiology of this disease. Dietary lycopene has been shown in in vitro studies to prevent the formation of oxidized LDL, a key player in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and CHD. The source of lycopene used in most of these studies was either tomato food products or tomato-derived lycopene extracts. Both of these sources contain various proportions of other carotenoids in addition to lycopene; therefore, it is not possible to attribute the demonstrated effects solely to lycopene.

Skin protection:

Oral sun protectants are probably more efficient than topical ones, as most sun exposure is incidental to daily living and not related to vacation time when topical sunscreens are commonly used. (This hypothesis has not been adequately investigated or confirmed.) Studies are scarce, however, on the protective effect of oral carotenoid supplements against skin responses to sun exposure. The protective effects are thought to be related to the antioxidant properties of the carotenoids. During ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, skin is exposed to photo-oxidative damage induced by the formation of ROS. Photo-oxidative damage affects cellular lipids, proteins, and DNA and is considered to be involved in the formation of erythema, premature aging of the skin, photodermatoses, and skin cancer.

Carotenoids, and especially lycopene, are efficient scavengers of ROS.Several animal studies and in vitro experiments provided evidence that carotenoids and tocopherols prevent UV light induced skin lesions and protect against skin cancer. Plasma and skin carotenoid concentrations decrease with UV irradiation; however, it is interesting that lycopene is lost preferentially over other carotenoids. Exposure of a small area of the forearm skin to UV light resulted in a reduction in skin lycopene. The same UV dose, however, did not result in significant changes in skin beta-carotene concentration. The authors concluded that when skin is subjected to UV light stress, more skin lycopene is destroyed as compared with beta-carotene, suggesting that lycopene plays a role in mitigating oxidative damage in tissues. However, other interpretations of these results are possible.
Tomato Extract Lycopene Lycopersicum esculentum extract Natural Tomato Extract CAS:090131-63-8 502-65-8 photo picture image

In a recent study,40 the efficacy of a mixture of carotenoids containing beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene was compared to beta-carotene alone for protection from UV induced skin erythema. Caucasian volunteers were tested in a placebo-controlled, parallel study. The intake of either beta-carotene or a mixture of carotenoids similarly increased total carotenoids in skin from week 0 to week 12. No changes in total carotenoids in skin occurred in the control group. The intensity of erythema 24 hours after irradiation was diminished in both groups that received carotenoids and was significantly lower than baseline after 12 weeks of supplementation. Long-term supplementation for 12 weeks with 24 mg/day of a carotenoid mix supplying similar amounts of beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene ameliorates UV-induced erythema in humans. The superior protection with mixtures may be due to different absorption wavelengths of the various compounds, leading to a greater absorption potential of the broader range of wavelengths. In another study, the same research group demonstrated that supplementation with tomato, a natural source for lycopene and other carotenoids, protects against UV-induced skin erythema in humans.