- A
- A
- A
Lycopene, Naringenin and Chlorogenic Acid—The Health Benefits of Tomatoes
You’ve heard the old saying …“You say toe-MAY-toe and I say toe-MA-toe.” Well, it doesn’t matter how you pronounce tomato because it’s what’s inside that really counts. And, in this case, it’s lycopene and a host of other beneficial nutrients found in this garden favorite. And while we’ll discuss these other nutrients later, let’s first look at the most widely studied compound in tomatoes, lycopene.
Lycopene is a carotenoid that gives tomatoes, watermelon, red grapefruit, papaya, and guava their color. There are more than 600 naturally occurring carotenoids—including beta-carotene—and lycopene seems to offer the most potent antioxidant protection of them all.
However, as we will soon discuss, lycopene is only one of the important components in tomatoes. Research now suggests that it is the combination of lycopene, along with the other phytochemicals in tomatoes that offer the health benefits of a diet rich in tomato products.
What’s the best source of lycopene?
In a word, tomatoes. Tomatoes that are ripened on the vine contain more lycopene than tomatoes that are picked green and then ripened. Even more importantly, cooked tomato products have higher available levels of lycopene than those in raw form because cooking breaks down cell walls, releasing lycopene. And your body absorbs lycopene even more easily if the tomatoes have been cooked in olive oil.1 So next time you’re cooking tomato sauce, don’t hesitate to pour in some olive oil.
But despite Americans’ love affair with Southern Italian food, it’s a challenge to get the optimal amount of lycopene you need to enjoy its health benefits. Believe it or not, some people are allergic to tomatoes, others find that tomatoes and tomato sauces don’t agree with them and cause indigestion. Still others simply don’t like the taste of tomatoes and are missing out on their health benefits. Lastly, to get enough lycopene to truly ensure you get the protection that it offers, you’d have to eat tomato-based products on a consistent basis.
There’s an easier way to get all the lycopene and other tomato phytochemicals you need to inhibit inflammation and free radical damage, and to protect yourself from developing cardiovascular disease or getting some forms of cancer.
Lycopene has attracted a lot of attention since 1995, when a six-year study by Harvard University of nearly 48,000 men found that those who ate at least 10 servings of foods per week containing tomato sauce or tomatoes were 45% less likely to develop prostate cancer. The study also found that those who ate four to seven servings per week were 20% less likely to develop the cancer.2
Researchers have also found that lycopene may help reduce risk of heart disease. One study found that women who ate at least seven servings a week of tomato-based products had a 30% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease3
You have to admit, those are pretty significant benefits from just eating tomatoes.
Lycopene works synergistically with the other phytochemicals in whole tomatoes to provide a wide range of health benefits. New evidence shows that the protective effects of tomatoes against cancer and cardiovascular disease are due to a combination of lycopene and the other phytonutrients naturally present in the fruit and skin of the tomato.4 In other words, you won’t obtain all the nutrients if you skin a tomato before making tomato sauce.
Tomatoes are a potent source of lycopene, but tomatoes are also an excellent source of flavonoids and polyphenols, which are associated with lower cancer risk. In addition, tomatoes contain significant amounts of folate, vitamin C, potassium, as well as some vitamin A and vitamin E.5
The important thing to remember is that research has shown that tomatoes contain a lot more than just lycopene. Tomatoes are also a great dietary source of the flavonoid naringenin and the polyphenol chlorogenic acid. Additionally, it has been found that cooking tomatoes greatly increases the absorption of these two important phytochemicals into our bodies.6 It seems that while cooking tomatoes can increase lycopene absorption, this is not the whole story of why cooked tomato products are more health protective than uncooked tomatoes. Instead, it also seems evident that cooking tomatoes dramatically increases the bioavailability of both naringenin and chlorogenic acid, and that these tomato compounds act together with lycopene to promote health.
Because of the strong association between dietary cooked tomato products and a lower risk of certain diseases, much research is now being undertaken into what benefits supplements of lycopene may have. Unfortunately, clinical studies utilizing lycopene supplements may end up being disappointing, because typical lycopene extracts do not contain all the valuable phytochemicals found in the tomato.
Lycopene supplements are made using lycopene that is either produced synthetically or extracted from tomatoes. Natural tomato lycopene extracts do contain some other tomato phytochemicals besides lycopene, such as beta-carotene, minor carotenoids, and vitamin E. However, the actual amounts of these additional tomato compounds are small. Lycopene made synthetically contains only lycopene. And in the case of naringenin and chlorogenic acid … typical lycopene extracts and supplements contain no significant amounts.
Editor's Note:
The natural health solutions described in this article are available through many on-line retailers including those listed below. By clicking these links you help support the important alternative health research we provide.
Visit www.amazon.com – a great way to find competitive deals on supplements offered by many different manufacturers.
Visit www.hfn-usa.com – when commitment to quality and freshness is important, this factory direct solution is preferred by many of our readers.
This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult with a physician before embarking on a dietary supplement program.
References
-
Fielding JM, Rowley KG, Cooper P, O’ Dea K. Increases in plasma lycopene concentration after consumption of tomatoes cooked with olive oil. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2005;14(2):131-6.
-
Giovannucci E, Ascherio A, Rimm EB, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Willett WC. Intake of carotenoids and retinol in relation to risk of prostate cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1995 Dec 6;87(23):1767-76.
-
Sesso HD, Liu S, Gaziano JM, Buring JE. Dietary lycopene, tomato-based food products and cardiovascular disease in women. J Nutr. 2003 Jul;133(7):2336-41.
-
Heber D, Lu QY. Overview of mechanisms of action of lycopene. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2002 Nov;227(10):920-3
-
Campbell JK, Canene-Adams K, Lindshield BL, Boileau TW, Clinton SK, Erdman JW Jr. Tomato phytochemicals and prostate cancer risk. J Nutr. 2004 Dec;134(12 Suppl):3486S-3492S
-
Bugianesi R, Salucci M, Leonardi C, et al. Effect of domestic cooking on human bioavailability of naringenin, chlorogenic acid, lycopene, and beta-carotene in cherry tomatoes. Eur J Nutr 2004 Dec; 43(6):360-6.
-
Knekt P, Kumpulainen J, Jarvinen R, et al. Flavonoid intake and risk of chronic diseases. Am J Clin Nutr 2002 Sep;76(3):560-8.
-
Gao K, Henning SM, Niu Y, et al. The citrus flavonoid naringenin stimulates DNA repair in prostate cancer cells. J Nutr Biochem 2006 Feb; 17(2):89-95.
-
dos Santos MD, Almeida MC, Lopes NP, de Souza GE. Evaluation of the anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic activities of the natural polyphenol chlorogenic acid. Biol Pharm Bull 2006 Nov;29(11):2236-40.
-
Watanabe T, Arai Y, Mitsui Y, et al. The blood pressure-lowering effect and safety of chlorogenic acid from green coffee bean extract in essential hypertension. Clin Exp Hypertens 2006 Jul;28(5):439-49.
-
Kozuma K, Tsuchiya S, Kohori J, et al. Antihypertensive effect of green coffee bean extract on mildly hypertensive subjects. Hypertens Res 2005 Sep;28(9):711-8.
-
Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis M, Bowen PE. Role of lycopene and tomato products in prostate health. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2005 May 30;1740(2):202-5.
-
Di Mascio P, Kaiser S, Sies H. Lycopene as the most efficient biological carotenoid singlet oxygen quencher. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1989 Nov 1;274(2):532-8.
-
Clinton, S.K. Lycopene: Chemistry, biology and implications for human health and disease. Nutr Rev. 1998 Feb;56(2 Pt 1):35-51.
-
Nkondjock A, Ghadirian P, Johnson KC, Krewski D. Dietary intake of lycopene is associated with reduced pancreatic cancer risk. J Nutr. 2005 Mar;135(3):592-7
-
Garmyn M, Ribaya-Mercado JD, Russel RM, Bhawan J, Gilchrest BA. Skin lycopene is destroyed preferentially over beta-carotene during irradiation in humans. Exp Dermatol. 1995 Apr;4(2):104-11.
-
Fazekas Z, Gao D, Saladi RN, Lu Y, Lebwohl M, Wei H. Protective effects of lycopene against ultraviolet B-induced photodamage. Nutr Cancer. 2003;47(2):181-7.
-
Arab L, Steck-Scott S, Fleishauer AT. Lycopene and the lung. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2002 Nov;227(10):894-9.
-
Heber D. Colorful cancer prevention: α-carotene, lycopene, and lung cancer. Am J Clin Nutr 72:901–902, 2000.
-
Michaud DS, Feskanich D, Rimm EB, et al. Intake of specific carotenoids and risk of lung cancer in 2 prospective US cohorts. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 Oct; 72(4):990-7.
-
Karas M, Amir H, Fishman D, Danilenko M, Segal S, Nahum A, Koifmann A, Giat Y, Levy J, Sharoni Y. Lycopene interferes with cell cycle progression and insulin-like growth factor I signaling in mammary cancer cells. Nutr Cancer 36:101–111, 2000.
-
Riso P, Visioli F, Grande S, Guarnieri S, Gardana C, Simonetti P, Porrini M. Effect of a tomato-based drink on markers of inflammation, immunomodulation, and oxidative stress. J Agric Food Chem. 2006 Apr 5;54(7):2563-6.
-
Rissanen TH, Voutilainen S, Nyyssonen K, Salonen R, Kaplan GA, Salonen JT. Serum lycopene concentrations and carotid atherosclerosis: the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Jan;77(1):133-8.
-
uhrman B, Elis A, Aviram M. Hypocholesterolemic effect of lycopene and ß-carotene is related to suppression of cholesterol synthesis and augmentation of LDL receptor activity in macrophages. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 233:658–662, 1997.
-
Engelhard YN, Gazer B, Paran E. Natural antioxidants from tomato extract reduce blood pressure in patients with grade-1 hypertension: a double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study. Am Heart J. 2006 Jan;151(1):100.
-
Gross MD, Snowdon DA. Plasma lycopene and longevity: findings from the Nun Study. FASEB Journal VOL 15. NO.4 March 7, 2001 PP. A400. Meeting March 31-April 04, 2001 Annual Meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology on Experimental Biology 2001.
-
Sharma JB, Kumar A, Kumar A, Malhotra M, Arora R, Prasad S, Batra S. Effect of lycopene on pre-eclampsia and intra-uterine growth retardation in primigravidas. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2003 Jun;81(3):257-62.
-
Rao LG, Mackinnon ES, Josse RG, et al. Lycopene consumption decreases oxidative stress and bone resorption markers in postmenopausal women. Osteoporos Int. 2007 Jan;18(1):109-15.
-
Heber D, Lu QY. Overview of mechanisms of action of lycopene. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2002 Nov;227(10):920-3.
-
Campbell JK, Canene-Adams K, Lindshield BL, et al. Tomato phytochemicals and prostate cancer risk. J. Nutr. 2004 Dec; 134(12 Suppl):3486S-3492S.
-
li-Muhtasib H, Bakkar N. Modulating cell cycle: current applications and prospects for future drug development. Curr Cancer Drug Targets. 2002 Dec;2(4):309-36.
-
Obermuller-Jevic UC, Olano-Martin E, Corbacho AM, Eiserich JP, van der Vliet A, Valacchi G, Cross CE, Packer L. Lycopene inhibits the growth of normal human prostate epithelial cells in vitro. J Nutr. 2003 Nov;133(11):3356-60.
-
Diwadkar-Navsariwala V, Novotny JA, Gustin DM, et al. A physiological pharmacokinetic model describing the disposition of lycopene in healthy men. J Lipid Res. 2003 Oct;44(10):1927-39.
-
Gustin DM, Rodvold KA, Sosman JA, et al. Single-dose pharmacokinetic study of lycopene delivered in a well-defined food-based lycopene delivery system (tomato paste-oil mixture) in healthy adult male subjects. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2004 May;13(5):850-60).