What is Lycopene?
(LY-koh-peen)Definition: A carotenoid that gives fruits and vegetables their red and pink colours. Lycopene has been shown to induce antioxidant activity in humans. Tomatoes, especially processed tomato products, are the richest source of dietary Lycopene. Other sources include watermelons and pink grapefruit.
Lycopene (from Lycopersicon, Latin for tomato), a carotenoid without provitamin-A activity, is the most potent naturally occurring antioxidant. It is a red, fat-soluble pigment found in certain plants, fruits, vegetables and micro organisms, where it serves as an accessory light-gathering pigment and protects these organisms against the toxic effects of oxygen and light.
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As They say, A red carotenoid pigment, C40H56, found chiefly in blood, the reproductive organs, tomatoes, and palm oils
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is written that a red, crystalline, carotenoid pigment, CH, that acts as an antioxidant: it is the red color in tomatoes
To hear Lycopene and its definition in the breastcancer.org™ Celebrity Talking Dictionary, visit A red pigment found in tomatoes and some fruits. It may help protect you against cancer.
Lycopene has been demonstrated in several studies to be associated with a reduction in prostate cancer in men’s cell growth. Lycopene also has been shown in clinical studies to help fight diseases in men and women. Lycopene is not produced in the body, so you can only obtain its benefits by eating foods rich in Lycopene or taking a Lycopene supplement. Lycopene is better absorbed by the body when it is consumed in processed tomato products, rather than fresh tomatoes. However, cooking tomatoes with oil greatly increases Lycopene absorption.
Lycopene is a powerful scavenger of singlet oxygen free radicals. In fact, Lycopene beats beta-carotene in free-radical quenching and it's slightly more abundant in the blood than beta-carotene. Lycopene is stored in the breast, colon, liver, lungs, prostate gland, skin and testes and science is finding it to be a powerful ally in fighting free-radical-generated cancers.
The human body is equipped with numerous antioxidant mechanisms for neutralizing free radicals. However, once we pass our late 20s, these protective mechanisms gradually decline and free radicals accumulate. That's the primary reason why we age and succumb to age-related conditions such as cancer and heart disease. Carotenoids such as Lycopene convert singlet state oxygen to its ground triplet state by absorbing and then dispersing excess excited state energy in the form of heat (1). Singlet oxygen can react with unsaturated compounds such as polyunsaturated fatty acids but may be intercepted by physical quenching. Lycopene has an exceptionally high singlet oxygen quenching ability, twice that of beta-carotene. Thus, tissues maybe spared from oxidation by the in vivo oxidation of Lycopene. Lycopene also interacts with other active oxygen species, such as hydrogen peroxide, which can generate the hydroxy radical known to induce strandscission in DNA and nitrogen dioxide, an air pollutant causing cell membrane damage (2). These changes may promote DNA mutations conducive to tumor generation and membrane alterations that allow for proliferation and metastases.
1. Gerster HMA. The potential role of lycopene for human health. J Am Col Nutr.1997; 16 2. Bohm F, Trinkler JH, Truscott TG. Carotenoids protect against cell membrane damage by the nitrogen dioxide radical. Nature Med. 1995; 1:98-997.
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