10 Lycopene: Source, Properties

and Nutraceutical Potential

Richard S. Bruno and Robert E.C. Wildman

CONTENTS

I. Introduction .................................................................................................................................157
II. Lycopene An Overview ........................................................................................ 158
A. Antioxidant Properties ....................................................................... 158
B. Di et Sou rces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
C. Effects of Food Processing ................................................................. 160
D. Serum and Tissue Concentration ............................................................ 161
E. Absorption and Transport ................................................................... 162
III. Lycopene and Disease ................................................................................................... 163
IV. Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 165
References ............................................................................................................................................. 165

I. INTRODUCTION
Over the past decade, certain plant substances, which have come to be known as phytochemicals,
have been the focus of considerable attention because of their potential health benefit. Lycopene
is one such substance, which belongs to a broad class of lipophilic compounds referred to as the
carotenoids. This interest has been partly stimulated by the growing amount of research pertaining
to the health benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption. Early explorations of lycopene stemmed
from scientific curiosity of the deep yellow, orange, and red pigments which are produced by the
various carotenoids. Lycopene is produced by certain fruit and vegetables, especially during the
ripening phase.

Although lycopene was initially explored during the early 1900s, it was not until 1930 that it
was realized that certain carotenoid compounds were metabolic precursors of vitamin A) However,
this ability to provide provitamin A activity was found to be limited to those carotenoid molecules
that contain an unsubstituted I3-ionine group. Lycopene is one such carotenoid lacking this 13-ionine
group and thus lacks provitamin A activity. On the other hand, 13-carotene, a-carotene, and p-
cryptoxanthin possess provitamin A activity. Approximately 50 years later, epidemiologists reported
that an inverse relationship existed between diets rich in red, orange, and yellow fruit and vegetables
and the risk for developing various forms of cancers as well as other chronic diseases. At first, it
was concluded that these effects were produced from the elevated vitamin A activity in the diet.
However, upon closer examination it was revealed that the food tables used to form these conclusions
converted the content of provitamin A carotenoids into vitamin A values. These results catalyzed
much of the modern research interest of the health benefits of other carotenoids in the diet. Until
recently, it was believed that many of the health effects were only attributable to the provitamin A
compounds. However, lycopene possesses no provitamin A activity, but has been found to have
many beneficial biological effects. The deep red crystalline pigment produced by lycopene was

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