Nestle-Indena team up to boost lycopene bioavailability

Tag : Extraction of Lycopene from Tomato

By refluxing tomato oleoresin in ethyl acetate for one week, the lycopene isomer profile could be improved, with the quantity oftrans-isomers significantly increased, according to researchpublished online in the journal Food Chemistry .

Lycopene is an antioxidant that is present in red- andpink-coloured fruits and vegetables. As well as being used as afood colouring, it is also used in supplements. The role oflycopene in heart health and in reducing the risk of certaincancers is supported by a body of research.

Red tomatoes typically contain about 95 per cent of their lycopeneas the all-trans-isomer, reported to be the most stable form. Intangerine tomatoes, on the other hand, the lycopene is also presentas tetra-cis-lycopene, a geometric isomer of all-trans-lycopene.

Geometric isomers refer to two or more substances that have the same chemicalmake-up but the arrangement of the constituent elements isdifferent, giving the substances different properties.

But evidence is mounting that the tetra-cis-lycopene form is morebioavailable to humans. But the researchers report that there are72 different types of cis-lycopene, with the so-called 5Z-, 9Z- and13Z-lycopene usually predominating. (The Z nomenclature is another,more complicated way of naming isomers. Roughly, the Z form refersto cis, and E refers to trans).