Lycopene is a carotenoid consisting of 8 isoprene units and contains 11 conjugated double bonds and 2 non-conjugated double bonds in the molecule. The molecular formula of lycopene is C40H56. Natural lycopene is an all-trans structure.
Figure 1：Chemical construction of lycopene
Humans and animals cannot synthesize lycopene by themselves and can only be supplemented by dietary supplements. Tomatoes and tomato products are the main sources of lycopene in the diet. In ripe tomatoes, 80% to 90% of the pigment components are composed of lycopene. In addition, other sources of lycopene include watermelon, red grapefruit, apricot, guava, papaya, etc.
In the human body, lycopene is present in the blood, liver, kidneys, adrenal glands, prostate and other organs or tissues. Lycopene is an important antioxidant and free radical scavenger. Epidemiology, animal experiments and tissue culture have demonstrated that lycopene has anti-cancer and anti-atherosclerotic properties, especially to reduce the risk of prostate cancer, digestive tract cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Lycopene belongs to lipids, and their absorption and transport must be dissolved in oil or fat, so the presence of a certain amount of oil and fat is required to improve its bioavailability. Therefore, compared with ingestion of tomato juice, lycopene is added to the oleoresin to make it slowly release, and the content in the oral mucosal cells can be significantly increased. In vivo, it penetrates into chylomicrons through small intestinal mucosal cells, and is then released into lymph and blood, and transported by low-density lipoprotein as a carrier.
Lycopene has the physiological function of controlling cell growth and metabolism. The unique structural characteristics of lycopene determine its physiological function. Protein molecules and membrane lipid molecules in the microenvironment can affect the physiological function of lycopene; in turn, lycopene molecules can also affect the subcellular structure of other molecules. Therefore, lycopene can affect the activity of human cells and the absorption and circulation of nutrients, thereby controlling the growth and metabolism of cells.