LycoLex LB10 - Tomato [Solanum lycopersicum] fruit 10% Lycopene [HPLC] granular powder [Beadlets]

Background

LycoLex is a premium lycopene extract, obtained from tomatoes. Lycopene is a carotenoid which are pigments that give some fruits and vegetables their bright appearance. Carotenoids are one of the most well-known phytochemicals. Lycopene is also found in fruits such as watermelon, papaya and pink grapefruit just to name a few, however tomatoes are the richest source. Lycopene has gained recognition as a powerful antioxidant and has been studied for more than 70 years. Due to its powerful antioxidant ability lycopene has been found to possess anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic potential.

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At Present we have the following variants of LycoLex

LycoLex LP5 - Tomato [Solanum lycopersicum] fruit 5% Lycopene powder extract

LycoLex LB10 - Tomato [Solanum lycopersicum] fruit 10% Lycopene [HPLC] granular powder [Beadlets]

LycoLex LDC5 - Tomato [Solanum lycopersicum] fruit 5% Lycopene [HPLC] DC granular powder

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Chemistry

Lycopene is a linear polyene hydrocarbon composed of 40 carbon atoms, containing 11 conjugated and two non-conjugated double bonds. Due to its structure, lycopene is soluble in organic solvents, slightly soluble in methanol or ethanol and is insoluble in water. The 11 conjugated double bonds in lycopene are what results in it being such an effective singlet oxygen quencher (antioxidant) (Burton-Freeman & Sesso, 2014).

Lycopene

CAS – 502-65-8
Molecular Formula – C40H56
Molecular Weight – 536.9 g/mol
IUPAC – (6E,8E,10E,12E,14E,16E,18E,20E,22E,24E,26E)-2,6,10,14,19,23,27,31-octamethyldotriaconta-2,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20,22,24,26,30-tridecaene

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Health Benefits

In general, lycopene is most certainly beneficial for health with high intakes of lycopene being linked to a 28% lower risk of all-cause mortality with intake also being inversely associated with coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease mortality (Li et al., 2020).

Antioxidant

Lycopene is an antioxidant in the carotenoid family. Due to its structure, lycopene has been found to be a more powerful antioxidant than both beta-carotene, alpha-tocopherol and zeaxanthin (Kelkel et al., 2011).
Antioxidants within the body are of vital importance as they help prevent oxidative stress caused by free radicals. This oxidative stress is linked to numerous chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s (Hajhashemi et al., 2010).
Research shows that lycopene’s antioxidant properties can help keep free radical levels in balance, protecting your body against some of these conditions (Fiedor & Burda, 2014).
In addition, some studies have shown that lycopene may protect the body against damage caused by environmental toxins such as pesticides, herbicides and certain types of fungi (El-Saad et al., 2015; Abass et al., 2016; Choi & Lee, 2015).
Lycopene’s protective effects appear particularly beneficial to those with low blood antioxidant levels or high levels of oxidative stress, including older adults, people who smoke, or individuals with diabetes or heart disease (Müller et al., 2015).

Heart Health

Lycopene may also help lower the risk of developing heart disease, due in part because it may reduce heart disease risk factors. For example, it may reduce free-radical damage, both total and LDL cholesterol levels and increase HDL cholesterol (Arab & Steck, 2000).
Studies have found that diets rich in lycopene are at a reduced risk of coronary heart disease and higher blood lycopene levels is indicative of a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (Jacques et al., 2013). Research has identified that there is an association between high blood levels of lycopene and a 31% lower risk of stroke (Li & XU, 2014).

Cancer

Lycopene’s strong antioxidant action may prevent or slow down the progression of some types of cancer.
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men and the fifth leading cause of death in men (Chen et al., 2015). Research has repeatedly identified a link between lycopene and prostate cancer, with results indicating that a higher lycopene intake decreases the likeliness of developing prostate cancer (Graff et al., 2016; Chen et al., 2015).
As well as prostate cancer, studies have also shown that lycopene may slow down the tumour growth of breast cancers (Assar et al., 2016). Lycopene may also exert a preventative action on breast cancer with correlations being identified between the consumption of lycopene and a decreased risk of breast cancer (Story et al., 2010).
Lung cancer is another very common cause of death throughout the world, with most lung cancers related to tobacco use. Epidemiological studies suggest that individuals with higher lycopene intakes are at a reduced risk of developing lung cancer (Story et al., 2010). There is an obvious trend, with studies consistently demonstrating an association between a high lycopene intake and a decrease in risk of many cancers (gastric, pancreatic, ovarian and colorectal) (Story et al., 2010).

Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a condition characterised by cardiometabolic risk factors that increase the likelihood of cardiovascular disease development (Senkus et al., 2019). Oxidative stress has been identified as a key process underpinning metabolic syndrome and therefore it is unsurprising that due to lycopene’s powerful antioxidant abilities, high blood levels of lycopene may increase the life span individuals with metabolic syndrome (Han et al., 2016).
Lycopene also shows benefit as a preventative measure against metabolic syndrome, with higher blood levels of lycopene being associated with a reduced number of metabolic syndrome diagnoses (Senkus et al., 2019).

Sunburn / Skin

Lycopene has also shown to be beneficial for the skin, in particular when the skin is exposed to UV rays. The consumption of lycopene appears to help reduce the severity of skin reactions due to UV exposure, including reducing the intensity of sun burn (Rizwan et al., 2011; Scarmo et al., 2010). It also significantly lowers UV-induced erythema and decreases MMP-1 activity, an enzyme involved in the breakdown of collagen, and has also shown to potentially reduce roughness of the skin (Evans & Johnson, 2010). It must be noted though that lycopene is not a replacement for sunscreen.

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References

1. Abass, M., Elkhateeb, S., Abd EL-Baset, S., Kattaia, A., Mohamed, E. and Atteia, H., 2016. Lycopene ameliorates atrazine-induced oxidative damage in adrenal cortex of male rats by activation of the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23(15), pp.15262-15274.


2. Arab, L. and Steck, S., 2000. Lycopene and cardiovascular disease. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 71(6), pp.1691S-1695S.


3. Assar, E., Vidalle, M., Chopra, M. and Hafizi, S., 2016. Lycopene acts through inhibition of IκB kinase to suppress NF-κB signaling in human prostate and breast cancer cells. Tumor Biology, 37(7), pp.9375-9385.


4. Burton-Freeman, B. and Sesso, H., 2014. Whole Food versus Supplement: Comparing the Clinical Evidence of Tomato Intake and Lycopene Supplementation on Cardiovascular Risk Factors. Advances in Nutrition, 5(5), pp.457-485.


5. Chen, P., Zhang, W., Wang, X., Zhao, K., Negi, D., Zhuo, L., Qi, M., Wang, X. and Zhang, X., 2015. Lycopene and Risk of Prostate Cancer. Medicine, 94(33), p.e1260.


6. Choi, H. and Lee, D., 2015. Lycopene induces apoptosis in Candida albicans through reactive oxygen species production and mitochondrial dysfunction. Biochimie, 115, pp.108-115.


7. El-Saad, A., Ibrahim, M., Hazani, A. and El-Gaaly, G., 2015. Lycopene attenuates dichlorvos-induced oxidative damage and hepatotoxicity in rats. Human & Experimental Toxicology, 35(6), pp.654-665.


8. Evans, J. and Johnson, E., 2010. The Role of Phytonutrients in Skin Health. Nutrients, 2(8), pp.903-928.


9. Fiedor, J. and Burda, K., 2014. Potential Role of Carotenoids as Antioxidants in Human Health and Disease. Nutrients, 6(2), pp.466-488.


10. Graff, R., Pettersson, A., Lis, R., Ahearn, T., Markt, S., Wilson, K., Rider, J., Fiorentino, M., Finn, S., Kenfield, S., Loda, M., Giovannucci, E., Rosner, B. and Mucci, L., 2016. Dietary lycopene intake and risk of prostate cancer defined by ERG protein expression. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 103(3), pp.851-860.


11. Hajhashemi, V., Vaseghi, G., Pourfarzam, M. and Abdollahi, A., 2010. Are antioxidants helpful for disease prevention? Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences, 5(1), pp.1-8.


12. Han, G., Meza, J., Soliman, G., Islam, K. and Watanabe-Galloway, S., 2016. Higher levels of serum lycopene are associated with reduced mortality in individuals with metabolic syndrome. Nutrition Research, 36(5), pp.402-407.


13. Jacques, P., Lyass, A., Massaro, J., Vasan, R. and D'Agostino Sr, R., 2013. Relationship of lycopene intake and consumption of tomato products to incident CVD. British Journal of Nutrition, 110(3), pp.545-551.


14. Kelkel, M., Schumacher, M., Dicato, M. and Diederich, M., 2011. Antioxidant and anti-proliferative properties of lycopene. Free Radical Research, 45(8), pp.925-940.


15. LI, X. and XU, J., 2014. Dietary and circulating lycopene and stroke risk: a meta-analysis of prospective studies. Scientific Reports, 4(1).


16. Li, N., Wu, X., Zhuang, W., Xia, L., Chen, Y., Wu, C., Rao, Z., Du, L., Zhao, R., Yi, M., Wan, Q. and Zhou, Y., 2021. Tomato and lycopene and multiple health outcomes: Umbrella review. Food Chemistry, 343, p.128396.


17. Müller, L., Caris-Veyrat, C., Lowe, G. and Böhm, V., 2015. Lycopene and Its Antioxidant Role in the Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases—A Critical Review. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 56(11), pp.1868-1879.


18. Rizwan, M., Rodriguez-Blanco, I., Harbottle, A., Birch-Machin, M., Watson, R. and Rhodes, L., 2010. Tomato paste rich in lycopene protects against cutaneous photodamage in humans in vivo: a randomized controlled trial. British Journal of Dermatology, 164(1), pp.154-162.


19. Scarmo, S., Cartmel, B., Lin, H., Leffell, D., Welch, E., Bhosale, P., Bernstein, P. and Mayne, S., 2010. Significant correlations of dermal total carotenoids and dermal lycopene with their respective plasma levels in healthy adults. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 504(1), pp.34-39.


20. Senkus, K., Tan, L. and Crowe-White, K., 2018. Lycopene and Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Advances in Nutrition, 10(1), pp.19-29.


21. Story, E., Kopec, R., Schwartz, S. and Harris, G., 2010. An Update on the Health Effects of Tomato Lycopene. Annual Review of Food Science and Technology, 1(1), pp.189-210.