Lycopene

Lycopene is a bright red carotenoid pigment, a phytochemical found in tomatoes and other red fruits.
Lycopene is the most common carotenoid in the human body and is one of the most potent carotenoid antioxidants. Its name is derived from the tomato's species classification, Solanum lycopersicum (formerly Lycopersicon esculentum).

Dietary sources

Fruits and vegetables that are high in lycopene include tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit, pink guava, papaya, red bell pepper, gac, and rosehip.

Unlike other fruits and vegetables, where nutritional content such as vitamin C is diminished upon cooking, processing of tomatoes increases the concentration of bioavailable lycopene. Lycopene in tomato paste is four times more bioavailable than in fresh tomatoes. This is because lycopene is so insoluble in water and is so tightly bound to vegetable fiber.

Thus processed tomato products such as pasteurized tomato juice, soup, sauce, and ketchup contain the highest concentrations of bioavailable lycopene. Cooking and crushing tomatoes (as in the canning process) and serving in oil-rich dishes (such as spaghetti sauce or pizza) greatly increases assimilation from the digestive tract into the bloodstream.

Lycopene is fat-soluble, so the oil is said to help absorption.Lycopene may be obtained from vegetables and fruits such as the tomato, but another source of lycopene is the fungus Blakeslea trispora.

Nutritional benefits

Lycopene is the most powerful carotenoid quencher of singlet oxygen, being 100 times more efficient in the singlet-oxygen quenching action than Vitamin E, which in turn has 125 times the quenching action of glutathione (water soluble).

Singlet oxygen produced during exposure to ultraviolet light is a primary cause of skin aging.Given its antioxidant properties, some scientific research has investigated the correlation between lycopene consumption and general health. Early research suggested some amelioration of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, and even male infertility.The most recent study, however, has cast significant doubt on these benefits, showing no link between lycopene and cancer prevention. In fact, a related antioxidant, beta-carotene, was shown to increase the number of prostate cancer cases.

Isomerism

Regular tomatoes and tomato products mainly contain the all-E (trans-)isomers oflycopene (between 35-96% of total lycopene content), but also some Z (cis-)isomers,mainly as 5Z, 9Z, 13Z & 15Z in percentages varying between 1-22% (Schierle et al.,1997).

Basic Information of Lycopene:

Product Name: Lycopene  Lycopene oleoresin
Synonyms: psi,psi-Carotene; ( all-trans ) - lycopene
Chemical Name: psi,psi-Carotene; ( all-trans ) - lycopene
CAS Registry Number: 502-65-8
Chemical Formula: C40H56
Molecular Weight: 536.88
Colour: Red
Physical state: solid
Appearance: crystalline
Odour: neutral
Solubility in water: practically insoluble
Melting point: 172-173 °C
Chemical Structures:

HPLC Chromatogram of Lycopene

All-trans-lycopene; γ-carotene; β-carotene; 13-cis-lycopene

Why AMA Industries Inc. Lycopene:

• A.) AMA Industries Inc. lycopene is 100% extracted from natural tomato extract very safe and more bioactive.
• B.) AMA Industries Inc. lycopene almost have no unpleasant taste compare to other lycopene and it can be easier to take by oral.
• C.) AMA Industries Inc. offer lycopene at a very lower price with a very high and uniform quality.
• D.) More important --- we have a very large output to meet our customers’ big and continual orders.

AMA’s Lycopene series:

• Red Tomato Powder  80 Mesh
• Red Tomato Grain   10 to 20 mesh
• Red Tomato chip
• Red Tomato Extract 3% Lycopene (Powder)
• Red Tomato Extract 1% Lycopene (Oil) 
• Red Tomato Extract 5% Lycopene (Powder)
• Red Tomato Extract 10% Lycopene (Oil)
• Red Tomato Extract 6% Lycopene (Powder)
• Red Tomato Extract 15% Lycopene (Oil)
• Red Tomato Extract 60% Lycopene (Powder)
• Red Tomato Extract 80% Lycopene (Powder)
• Red Tomato Extract 90% Lycopene (Powder)
• Red Tomato Extract 98% Lycopene (Powder)
• Red Tomato Extract 99% Lycopene (Powder)

References

-American Dietetic Association. Lycopene: an Antioxidant for Good Health. Available at: http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/nutrition_5328_ENU_HTML.htm. Accessed June 14, 2007.
-Boileau TW, Liao Z, Kim S, et al. Prostate carcinogenesis in N-methyl-Nitrosourea (NMU)-testosterone-treated rats fed tomato powder, lycopene, or energy-restricted diets. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003; 95:1578-1586.
-Campbell JK, Canene-Adams K, Lindshield BL, Boileau TW, Clinton SK, Erdman JW Jr. Tomato phytochemicals and prostate cancer risk. J Nutr. 2004; 134:3486S-3492S.
-Clinton SK. Lycopene: chemistry, biology, and implications for human health and disease. Nutr Rev. 1998;56:35-51.
-Clark PE, Hall MC, Borden LS Jr, et al. Phase I-II prospective dose-escalating trial of lycopene in patients with biochemical relapse of prostate cancer after definitive local therapy. Urology.2006;67:1257-1261.
-Doyle C, Kushi LH, Byers T, et al. Nutrition and physical activity during and after cancer treatment: an American Cancer Society guide for informed choices. CA: a Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2006;56:323-353.
-Etminan M, Takkouche B, Caamano-Isorna F. The role of tomato products and lycopene in the prevention of prostate cancer: a meta-analysis of observational studies. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2004;13:340-345.
-Gerster H. The potential role of lycopene for human health. J Am Coll Nutr. 1997;16:109-126.
-Giovannucci E. Tomatoes, tomato-based products, lycopene, and cancer: review of the epidemiologic literature. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1999;91:317-331.
-Goodman M, Bostick RM, Ward KC, et al. Lycopene intake and prostate cancer risk: effect modification by plasma antioxidants and the XRCC1 genotype. Nutrition & Cancer.2006;55:13-20.
-Jatoi A, Burch P, Hillman D, et al. A tomato-based, lycopene-containing intervention for androgen-independent prostate cancer: results of a Phase II study from the North Central Cancer Treatment Group. Urology. 2007;69:289-294.
-Kirsh VA, Mayne ST, Peters U, et al. A prospective study of lycopene and tomato product intake and risk of prostate cancer. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. 2006;15:92-98.
-Kushi LH, Byers T, Doyle C, et al. American Cancer Society guidelines on nutrition and physical activity for cancer prevention: reducing the risk of cancer with healthy food choices and physical activity. CA: a Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2006;56:254-281.
-Labriola D, Livinston R. Possible interactions between dietary antioxidants and chemotherapy. Oncology.1999;13:1003-1011.
-Nagasawa H, Mitamura T, Sakamoto S, Yamamoto K. Effects of lycopene on spontaneous mammary tumour development in SHN virgin mice. Anticancer Res. 1995;15:1173-1178.
-National Cancer Institute. Promises and perils of lycopene/tomato supplementation and cancer prevention. (Executive summary of February 17-18, 2005 conference) Available at: http://dceg.cancer.gov/pdfs/davis1352014s2005.pdf. Accessed June 14, 2007.
-Norrish AE, Jackson RT, Sharpe SJ, Skeaff CM. Prostate cancer and dietary carotenoids. Am J Epidemiol. 2000;151:119-123.
-Peters U, Leitzmann MF, Chatterjee N, et al. Serum Lycopene, Other Carotenoids, and Prostate Cancer Risk: a Nested Case-Control Study in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2007 16: 962-968.
-Paiva SA, Russell RM. Beta-carotene and other carotenoids as antioxidants. J Am Coll Nutr. 1999;18:426-433.
-Porrini M, Riso P. Lymphocyte lycopene concentration and DNA protection from oxidative damage is increased in women after a short period of tomato consumption. J Nutr. 2000;130:189-192.
-Rao AV, Agarwal S. Bioavailability and in vivo antioxidant properties of lycopene from tomato products and their possible role in the prevention of cancer. Nutr Cancer. 1998;31:199-203.
-Note: This information may not cover all possible claims, uses, actions, precautions, side effects or interactions. It is not intended as medical advice, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultation with your doctor, who is familiar with your medical situation.