Ingredient review —Lycopene
What is it?
Description
Lycopene is a non-provitamin A carotenoid that is responsible for the red and pink coloration of certain fruits, such as tomatoes, pink grapefruit, watermelon, papaya, and guava. Lycopene derived from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) sources has been most widely studied and accounts for significant portions of its dietary intake. (23) Lycopene is most commonly recognized as an antioxidant with roles in preventing oxidative stress across a wide variety of conditions. (6)(34)
Main uses
Anti-oxidant applications
Cardiometabolic disorders
Infertility and prostatic disorders
Formulations
Form
Bioavailability
Lactolycopene (e.g., Ateronon ® - contains 6% lycopene as Lyc-o-mato ® within whey protein matrix) (24)
Equal increase in bioavailability to tomato paste (24)
Lyc-o-mato® (e.g., Lycored - contains lycopene (6%), β-carotene (0.15%), phytoene and phytofluene (1%) and vitamin E (2%), phospholipids (15%), and phytosterol (0.6%) in oleoresin oil (22)
Equal bioavailability of synthetic lycopene to tomato-based lycopene (Lyc-o-mato®) (12)
Dosing & administration
Benign prostatic hyperplasia
General outcomes from A-level evidence
No data currently available.
Dosing & administration
15 mg (as Lycovit ® synthetic beadlets) per day for 6 months
Outcomes
PSA & no prostate enlargement (26)
Class of evidence
c
Cardiovascular disease
General outcomes from A-level evidence
No data currently available.
Dosing & administration
7 mg (as Ateronon ® lactolycopene) per day for 2 months
Outcomes
endothelium- dependent vasodilatation by 53% to level of healthy volunteers suggesting improved endothelial function (10)
Class of evidence
b
Exercise-induced asthma
General outcomes from A-level evidence
No data currently available.
Dosing & administration
30 mg (as Lyc-o-mato® oleoresin tomato extract) per day
Outcomes
protection against asthma (18)
Class of evidence
c
Hypertension
General outcomes from A-level evidence
No data currently available.
Dosing & administration
15 mg (as Lyc-o-mato® oleoresin tomato extract) per day for 6 weeks
Outcomes
systolic and diastolic BP
serum nitrate (22)
Class of evidence
b
Leukoplakia
General outcomes from A-level evidence
No data currently available.
Dosing & administration
4-8 mg (unspecified form) per day for 3 months
Outcomes
improvement clinical & histological signs (28)
Class of evidence
b
Male infertility
General outcomes from A-level evidence
No data currently available.
Dosing & administration
20 mg (unknown form) per day for 12 weeks
Outcomes
soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) in seminal plasma in fertile and infertile subjects (20)
Class of evidence
c
Oral submucous fibrosis
General outcomes from A-level evidence
No data currently available.
Dosing & administration
4 mg (as Lyc-o-mato® oleoresin tomato extract) twice per day for 2 months
Outcomes
mouth-opening measures (13)
Class of evidence
b
Dosing & administration
16 mg (unspecified form) per day for 2 months
Outcomes
mouth-opening measures (15)
Class of evidence
b
Osteoporosis
General outcomes from A-level evidence
No data currently available.
Dosing & administration
30 mg per (as tomato juice, lycopene-enriched tomato juice, or Lyc-o-mato® oleoresin tomato extract) day for 4 months
Outcomes
total antioxidant capacity
lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation & bone resorption marker NTx (16)
Class of evidence
b
Oxidative stress
General outcomes from A-level evidence
No data currently available.
Dosing & administration
30 mg (as Redivivo ® synthetic beadlets) per day for 8 weeks
Outcomes
lymphocyte DNA damage & urinary 8-hydroxy deoxyguanosine (8)
Class of evidence
b
Dosing & administration
14.64 mg (as Lyc-o-mato® oleoresin tomato extract) per day for 2 weeks
Outcomes
frequency of undamaged DNA
frequency of damaged DNA in healthy & smoking subjects, and IL-4 in smokers (3)
Class of evidence
b
Dosing & administration
15 mg (unspecified form) per day for 8 weeks
Outcomes
superoxide dismutase activity, endothelial function score, β-carotene & LDL-particle size
DNA comet tail length, hs-CRP, & systolic blood pressure (14)
Class of evidence
b
Dosing & administration
12 mg (unspecified, synthetic beadlets) per day for 8 weeks
Outcomes
DNA damage (35)
Class of evidence
c
Type II diabetes
General outcomes from A-level evidence
No data currently available.
Dosing & administration
10 mg (unspecified form) per day for 2 months
Outcomes
total antioxidant capacity to malondialdehyde (MDA) ratio. Significant negative correlation between serum IgG and lycopene, & direct correlation between serum IgM and lycopene (19)
Class of evidence
b
Adverse effects
The observed level of safety for lycopene has been described at 75mg per day, though higher concentrations have been ingested without adverse effects. (27) Doses of lycopene as high as 120 mg per day have been ingested without adverse effects in healthy subjects, (9) and have been shown to be safe at this dose after a year of consumption. (7) Rare instances of allergic skin reactions have been reported. (8)
Pharmacokinetics
Absorption
- Approximately 10-30% of lycopene is absorbed after oral intake. (6)
- Absorption occurs via passive diffusion in the intestine and by the scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) cholesterol membrane transporter. (17)(31)
- Uptake is saturable, with less than 6 mg typically absorbed regardless of doses ranging from 10-120mg. (9)
Distribution
- The SR-BI cholesterol membrane transporter is also located in the liver, adrenals, ovaries, placenta, kidneys, prostate, and brain. (33)
- Highest concentrations are distributed to the testes, and then sequentially to the adrenals, liver, prostate, breast, pancreas, skin, colon, ovaries, lungs, stomach, kidney, adipose tissues, and cervix, thereafter. (6)
Metabolism
References
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- Karemore, T., & Motwani, M. (2012). Evaluation of the effect of newer antioxidant lycopene in the treatment of oral submucous fibrosis. Indian Journal of Dental Research, 23(4), 524-528. ()
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- Kumar, A., Bagewadi, A., Keluskar, V., & Singh, M. (2007). Efficacy of lycopene in the management of oral submucous fibrosis. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontology, 103(2), 207-213. ()
- Mackinnon, E. S., Rao, A. V., Josse, R. G., & Rao, L. G. (2010). Supplementation with the antioxidant lycopene significantly decreases oxidative stress parameters and the bone resorption marker N-telopeptide of type I collagen in postmenopausal women. Osteoporosis International, 22(4), 1091-1101. ()
- Moussa, M., Landrier, J., Reboul, E., Ghiringhelli, O., Coméra, C., Collet, X., . . . Borel, P. (2008). Lycopene absorption in human intestinal cells and in mice involves scavenger receptor class B type I but not niemann-pick C1-like 1. The Journal of Nutrition, 138(8), 1432-1436. ()
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- Oborna, I., Malickova, K., Fingerova, H., Brezinova, J., Horka, P., Novotny, J., . . . Svobodova, M. (2011). A randomized controlled trial of lycopene treatment on soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products in seminal and blood plasma of normospermic Men. American Journal of Reproductive Immunology, 66(3), 179-184. ()
- Paetau, I., Rao, D., Wiley, E. R., Brown, E. D., & Clevidence, B. A. (1999). Carotenoids in human buccal mucosa cells after 4 wk of supplementation with tomato juice or lycopene supplements. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 70(4), 490-494. ()
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- Richelle, M., Bortlik, K., Liardet, S., Hager, C., Lambelet, P., Baur, M., . . . Offord, E. A. (2002). A food-based formulation provides lycopene with the same bioavailability to humans as that from tomato paste. The Journal of Nutrition, 132(3), 404-408. ()
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- Schwarz, S., Obermüller-Jevic, U. C., Hellmis, E., Koch, W., Jacobi, G., & Biesalski, H. (2008). Lycopene inhibits disease progression in patients with benign prostate hyperplasia. The Journal of Nutrition,138(1), 49-53. ()
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- Singh, M., Krishanappa, R., Bagewadi, A., & Keluskar, V. (2004). Efficacy of oral lycopene in the treatment of oral leukoplakia. Oral Oncology, 40(6), 591-596. ()
- Stahl, W., & Sies, H. (1992). Uptake of lycopene and its geometrical isomers is greater from heat-processed than from unprocessed tomato juice in humans. The Journal of Nutrition, 122(11), 2161-2166. ()
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