Lycopene: Implications for Human Health–A Review.
Lycopene is one of the six major dietary and serum carotenoids, and a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. A large and growing body of scientific evidence supports the role of lycopene in multiple areas of health, including cancer, prostate, cardiometabolic, lung, skin, and liver health, and elucidates lycopene’s mechanisms of action. This paper provides an overview of several benefit areas, specifically prostate, testes, cardiovascular, liver and skin health.
Carotenoids are naturally occurring, generally fat-soluble pigments synthesized by plants, algae, and photosynthetic bacteria. Over 750 carotenoids are found in nature and 1,117 are catalogued in the Carotenoids Database. Carotenoids are responsible for the yellow, orange, and red colors in nature. Oxidative stress plays a significant role in cardiovascular disease and may be a major cause of lycopene depletion in ageing and cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Key risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking. Damage and remodeling of blood vessels can result in blood flow restrictions affecting the heart and central nervous system in CVD, and atherosclerosis is the leading cause of CVD. Lycopene is first emulsified and solubilized into micelles before absorbed into the intestinal mucosa.
Major health problems nowadays deal with the accumulation of reactive oxygen species accompanied with abnormalities, such as inflammation and irregular lipid metabolism, that
are the primary risk factor for the increased prevalence of lifestyle metabolic diseases. ROS, also called free radicals, are highly reactive, unstable molecules that contain oxygen, and a build-up of
these may cause damage to deoxyribonucleic acid, ribonucleic acid, and proteins, and ultimately may cause cell death. With 11 conjugated double bonds, lycopene is one of the most potent antioxidants and free radical scavengers with stronger antioxidant properties than other serum carotenoids.