The utilization rate of lycopene in processed tomatoes is higher than that in raw tomatoes. This is because operations such as crushing and heating can destroy the cell walls and release lycopene. When the heating temperature is increased to above 100°C, the structure of lycopene can also change to a more easily utilized form. However, please note that long-term high-temperature heating will also degrade lycopene and reduce the total amount.
Studies have found that after eating tomato sauce, the area under the blood lycopene concentration curve is 3.8 times that after eating raw tomatoes.
The function of lycopene
Lycopene is of great significance in preventing cardiovascular diseases, improving human immunity and delaying aging.
Lowering blood lipids and blood pressure:
In order to explore the effects of lycopene on blood lipids, researchers from all over the world have conducted a number of animal and human trials. Australian scientists collected 12 international studies on the effects of lycopene on blood lipids and blood pressure and found that human supplementation with lycopene can inhibit the formation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol oxidation products, prevent the occurrence of coronary heart disease, and play a positive role in the control of blood lipids and blood pressure.
A study by Cambridge University announced at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association found that the artificial lycopene Ateronon newly developed by scientists has unique effects in improving vascular elasticity and reducing vascular sclerosis.
Skin care
Studies have found that lycopene can delay aging by scavenging free radicals, enhancing the activity of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, and reducing the content of malondialdehyde.
The antioxidant effect of lycopene enables it to prevent and delay skin aging, reduce wrinkles and freckles, and whiten the skin.
Anti-inflammatory effect
Clinical studies have found that lycopene has a significant effect in inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Patients with coronary artery disease who supplement 7 mg/d of lycopene for 30 days can effectively reduce the IgG content in the body.
The study found that healthy young women who supplemented tomato juice containing 32.5 mg of lycopene every day for 8 weeks had anti-obesity, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
Types of lycopene:
Lycopene has 11 conjugated double bonds and 2 non-conjugated double bonds. This conjugated double bond structure allows lycopene to produce various types of cis-trans isomers.
In natural fruits and vegetables, more than 90% of lycopene exists in the all-trans configuration, while in human tissues and serum, only cis-lycopene exists, of which 5-cis, 9-cis, 13-cis and 15-cis lycopene account for about 50% of the total lycopene.
Studies have shown that cis-lycopene has a stronger polarity, is not easy to crystallize, is more soluble in micelles and is absorbed and utilized by the human body, and its bioavailability is about 5 times that of all-trans lycopene compared to the trans isomer.
Application of lycopene in China
Food additives:
Lycopene is used as a food additive in ordinary foods in my country, mainly to provide coloring function for food. Due to the presence of a large number of conjugated double bonds in lycopene, temperature, light, etc. will cause oxidative decomposition of lycopene, resulting in low bioavailability. Lycopene is rarely used in ordinary foods and is only added to some beverages and candies.
Health care material:
With people's demand for nutrition and health, health products containing lycopene have been known to more people and purchased for consumption. People take exogenous nutrients or take dietary nutritional supplements to prevent cells from being damaged by free radicals and enhance immunity.
Lycopene regulations in various countries and regions
Natural lycopene has been used in health foods with antioxidant and immune-enhancing functions. The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) believed in 2006 that lycopene can be used as a pigment and nutrient supplement.
In 2008, the European Union divided food supplements containing non-vitamins and minerals into 6 categories (amino acids, enzymes, essential fatty acids, probiotics, plant-derived substances, and other categories), and natural lycopene was listed as "other categories". In 2009, lycopene extracted from tomatoes was approved to enter the market as a new food ingredient, and lycopene oil products extracted from tomato sauce were approved as new ingredients for special therapeutic foods.
Australia/New Zealand believes that lycopene extracted from tomatoes is a non-traditional food or a new resource food, but it is determined that there is no safety problem. It has been approved as a food additive with the number 160d, and can be used as a colorant and dietary supplement.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) approved natural lycopene extracted from tomatoes (INS No. 160d) as a food colorant and believed that it was not necessary to determine its ADI value.
In 2006, the Council for Responsible Nutrition (USA) conducted a risk assessment on lycopene and proposed an "Observed Safe Level (OSL)" of 75 mg/d. The assessment was based on more than 30 human intervention experimental studies that had been published and peer-reviewed before 2006.
In these experiments, the highest dose was 150 mg/d (consecutive 7 days of intake); the second was 75 mg/d (15 healthy adults, for 28 days); the longest duration was 140 days (healthy adults 13.3 mg/d), and no adverse effects were observed, so the tolerable upper intake level (UL) could not be derived. The OSL calculated based on animal experimental data is 270 mg/d.
In China, lycopene is listed as a food additive and its usage is regulated in accordance with the "GB 2760-2014 Food Additives Usage Standard".
In addition, lycopene is also used in health foods with antioxidant and immune-enhancing functions. The specific recommended value for lycopene for Chinese adults in the "Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs)" is SPL 18 mg/d[46], and the recommended maximum tolerable intake is UL 70 mg/d.