Brightly red
coloured fruits are not just attractive to the human eyes but could taste good
to the tongue as well as impact health benefits. A carotenoid common to some
but not all of them is a powerful antioxidant known as lycopene.
Lycopene is
a natural pigment made by plants, fruits and vegetables which enable them use
the energy of the sun to make nutrients. It is a polyunsaturated hydrocarbon
which is insoluble in water. Lycopene owes its red colour and antioxidant
qualities to its eleven conjugated bonds. It has a higher level compared to
similar pigments in the colon, liver, serum, adrenal glands and liver of
humans.
Lycopene is
functional in the prevention of heart disease as it decreases the synthesis of
cholesterol and atherosclerosis by inhibiting platelet aggregation. It is also
active against various forms of cancers such as breast, lungs, bladder,
ovaries, colon and prostate cancers. People with diets rich in tomatoes appear
to have lower risks of certain cancers especially of the prostate, lungs and
stomach. In prostate cancer, it acts by inhibiting prostate cell proliferation,
increasing cell death (apoptosis) and may affect the insulin-like growth factor
intracellular pathway.
Antioxidant
effects are increased when lycopene is combined with lutein and a decrease in
cancer cell growth is observed when it is combined with Vitamin D or E.
Tomatoes are
the most concentrated food source of lycopene common to us; other sources are
papaya, water melon, apricots and guavas. Gac fruit which possesses a very high
content of lycopene is rare beyond Southeast Asia. Processing of foods
containing lycopene increases its bioavailability; cooking breaks down the cell
walls of tomato increasing the availability of lycopene. Dietary fat increases
its absorption.
There is no
outlined recommended daily intake for lycopene. This might not be unrelated to
conflicting reports from various sources on its effectiveness in treating some
of the outlined diseases. However, promising researches are still on-going.