LYCOPENE is a bright red carotenoid pigment and phyto-chemical found in tomatoes and other red colored fruits. A terpene assembled from eight isoprene units and having a molecular formula of C40H56, it derives its name from the tomato's species classification, Solanum lycopersicum. It is the most common carotenoid in the human body and one of the most potent carotenoid anti-oxidants.
Carotenoids work to protect against cancer and aging-related diseases by counteracting the effects of so-called free radicals formed in tissues as a result of body cells burning oxygen for energy. The reddish color of lycopene can be explained by its many conjugated carbon double bonds, each of which reduces energy required for electrons to transform to higher energy states. This in turn allows the molecule to absorb visible light at progressively longer wavelengths. Because it absorbs most of the visible spectrum, lycophene appears red.
Lycopene sources:
Fruits and vegetables high in lycopene include tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit, papaya and rosehip. Americans source their lycopene mostly in tomato-based foods like juice, pizza, spaghetti sauce, catsup and so on. Lycophene-rich foods actually increase in content upon cooking unlike other fruits and vegetables containing vitamin C which diminish on processing.
As such lycopene in tomato paste is four times more bioavailable than in fresh tomatoes and it follows that processed tomato products like tomato juice, soup, sauce, and catsup contain high concentrations of lycopene. This can be attributed to lycopene's insolubility in water and its tightly bounded to vegetable fiber. Because it is not water-soluble, it instantly stains any porous material, including most plastics. As a result crushing and canning tomatoes and serving it in oil-rich dishes increases assimilation from the digestive tract into the bloodstream.
Health benefits:
Lycopene considered as the most powerful carotenoid quencher of singlet oxygen. Sourced from ultraviolet light, singlet oxygen is a primary cause for skin aging. Medical evidence suggests that the frequent and sufficient intake of lycopene rich products leads to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, some types of cancer (prostate cancer, oesophageal, colon and mouth cancer), diabetes, osteoporosis and even male impotency.
Due to its popularity, lycopene is being licensed for use as a food coloring. On the more practical side, the lycopene in a tomato stain can be easily removed from fabric if the stain is fresh. However tomato stained plastic can only be cleaned with bleach. Thus plastic products are susceptible to staining if heated, scratched, oiled or pitted by acids like those found in tomatoes.
Being one of the major carotenoids found in human blood and tissues, lycopene can be found primarily in the testis, adrenal glands, liver, prostate, breast, colon, and lung. Since it cannot be metabolized to Vitamin A, lycopene's biological effects among people have been linked to other mechanisms. Lycopene is considered among the more effictive carotenoids in terms of protecting parts of the human cells like lipids, membrane lipoproteins, proteins, and DNA from the damage inflicted by free radicals.
As an antioxidant, lycopene helps keep the immune system healthy and reduce the risk for cancer and other diseases. According to a 1995 study conducted by Harvard University on 47,894 men, researchers learned that participants eating 10 or more servings a week of tomato products reduced their risk of prostate cancer by 34 percent. At the same time men with the highest amount of lycopene in their body fat were half likely to suffer a heart attack as those with a low amount of lycopene in their body fat. Researchers then stated that the lycopene level in a person's body fat is an indicator of lycopene content in the diet.
Lycopene content in milligrams on food items:
Tomato Soup, 1 cup 24.8 mg
Tomato or Spaghetti Sauce, « cup 19.4 mg
Canned Tomatoes, « cup 11.8 mg
Watermelon, 1 cup 7.8 mg
Ketchup, 2 tablespoons 5.1 mg
Fresh Tomato, 1 medium 3.7 mg
Pink or Red Grapefruit, « cup 1.8 mg
