How Lycopene May Fight Free Radical Damage

Lycopene, a plant chemical, is a potent antioxidant, meaning that it protects cells from damage caused by free radicals and helps prevent disease. Lycopene is well known to support bone health. It may also reduce the risk of certain cancers, improve blood sugar control, and protect against heart disease.

Lycopene naturally gives foods like tomatoes, watermelons, and sweet red peppers their pink/red color. In addition to food sources, it is available as a dietary supplement in tablet, capsule, and gelcap form.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate supplements the way it regulates prescription drugs. That means some supplement products may not contain what the label says. When choosing a supplement, look for third-party tested products and consult a healthcare provider, registered dietitian nutritionist (RD or RDN), or pharmacist.

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One of the biggest benefits of lycopene is that it is an antioxidant and protects the body from free radical stress that can damage DNA and other cell structures.

The antioxidant properties help balance free radical activity in the body and, in doing so, may reduce the risk of certain diseases. For example, there's emerging evidence that lycopene has a role in supporting the health of your bones.

While there may be additional benefits of lycopene related to heart health and cancer prevention, there is not enough evidence to support these benefits currently.

There is growing evidence that lycopene can help maintain bone strength. In a 2020 clinical study, lycopene was shown to affect bone metabolism (the constant production and breakdown of bone tissue). The authors found that lycopene changed the activity of multiple genes that support bone density, providing strength to bones.

Additionally, the authors carried out a low-quality pilot (small-scale) study with 68 women. The study showed that supplementing with tomato sauce (high in lycopene) helped retain bone strength. This research is exciting, but larger studies are needed to confirm these results.

Lycopene is an antioxidant. In theory, antioxidants could protect against cancer by preventing damage to DNA and cell structures. Unfortunately, the current research on lycopene is too limited in quality to ensure that lycopene decreases cancer risk.

Research has shown that higher lycopene levels strongly correlate (have a mutual relationship) with a reduced risk for prostate cancer. For example, a meta-analysis (a merging of findings from many studies) showed that participants who reported higher lycopene intake and had higher blood levels of lycopene were at lower risk of prostate cancer.

Also, as lycopene intake and levels in the blood increased, cancer risk decreased further. This has also been confirmed in epidemiological studies (studies on human populations) of lycopene intake and a reduced risk of head and neck cancers.

However, there's currently no evidence that the lycopene itself is directly causing this reduced risk. For example, it's known that eating more fruits and vegetables overall is associated with a reduced risk of cancer. Other behaviors that support health may also coincidentally occur in people who eat enough lycopene.

To illustrate, studies have shown that those who eat more fruits and vegetables are also less likely to drink alcohol. Drinking more alcohol than the recommended daily amounts has increased the risk of certain types of cancer.

High-quality research is needed to show that lycopene, and its antioxidant abilities can directly impact the development of prostate and other cancers.

Higher lycopene intake and blood levels correlate with a reduced risk for stroke. However, there's little evidence that lycopene is directly causing this reduced risk.

Good blood pressure and cholesterol management are essential to heart and vascular (cardiovascular) health. There is mixed evidence on whether lycopene can help improve cardiovascular health. A 2020 meta-analysis confirmed that existing research does not support a relationship between lycopene and blood pressure or cholesterol levels.

However, additional evidence is emerging to support lycopene's role in keeping blood vessels healthy. In a clinical study, lycopene benefited endothelial function. "Endothelial function" refers to factors related to the health of the inner lining of blood vessels. Interestingly, this improvement was only seen in people with cardiovascular disease, not among healthy participants.

More research is necessary before lycopene can be confirmed to benefit cardiovascular health.

Lycopene has also been studied for use in treating:

However, more study is needed before lycopene can be recommended to treat these conditions.

Though lycopene has health benefits, it can still cause undesirable effects. There is, however, limited research on the side effects of lycopene.

Eating, or supplementing with, large amounts of lycopene could lead to lycopenemia. Lycopenemia results in an orange or red discoloration of the skin and resolves after eating a diet low in lycopene. It's considered to be relatively harmless.

If you do not feel well after taking lycopene stop the supplement and contact your healthcare provider.

While lycopene is generally safe, lycopene supplements should not be used without first speaking with a healthcare provider.

Lycopene supplements should generally be avoided during:

While there is no formal recommendation for lycopene intake, 2 to 75 milligrams per day has been commonly studied and proven safe. The length of use in studies is usually one to six months. Lower doses are less likely to cause the benign skin condition, lycopenemia, discussed above.

Lycopene is fat-soluble, which means it is better absorbed in the gut when taken with fat. As such, you should take lycopene supplements with meals that contain reasonable amounts of healthy fat, such as those from nuts, fatty fish, eggs, avocado, or olive oil.

Be aware that lycopene competes with other carotenoids for absorption into the gut. Therefore, taking a lycopene supplement with lutein, beta-carotene, or another carotenoid supplement, may result in decreased absorption. Other supplements, such as calcium, can also reduce absorption.

Antiplatelets: Lycopene may inhibit blood clotting, which could increase the risk of bleeding during and after surgery. Use caution when using lycopene with other medicines, including herbal preparations and plant-based medicines.

Anorectic drugs: Theoretically, drugs that decrease food consumption (anorectic drugs) overall may decrease lycopene intake.

Lipase inhibitors: Lipase inhibitors, which decrease fat absorption, may also impact your body's ability to absorb lycopene.

Supplements similar to lycopene include:

Beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin are carotenoids and antioxidants like lycopene. However, they are found in different foods. For example, beta-carotene is well-known for giving carrots their orange color and is also found in sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and many other foods. Lutein and zeaxanthin are mainly found in dark green vegetables.

Beta-carotene is converted into another antioxidant, vitamin A, in the body. Vitamin A can generally be found in the same foods as beta-carotene.

Vitamins E and C are also common antioxidants in our diet. Vitamin E is found in many foods, including almonds, sunflower seeds, avocados, and tomatoes. Vitamin C is well-known for its presence in citrus fruits but is also in tomatoes and many other foods.

Whole foods should be the preferred source of lycopene, as they contain additional nutrients that may work together with lycopene to provide health benefits. For example, tomatoes contain various other antioxidants in addition to lycopene, which together may give the food its health-promoting power.

Further, while lycopene alone has not been proven to reduce cholesterol having a good amount of fiber in the diet can. While fiber can be found in a tomato, there isn't any in lycopene supplements.

Lycopene is found in many foods, most having the trademark orange or red hue that lycopene provides. Foods with the highest amounts of lycopene are watermelon, tomatoes, grapefruit, papaya, and mangoes.

Certain tomato products, including sun-dried tomato and tomato paste, are potent sources. A fresh, medium-sized tomato has about 3.2 milligrams of lycopene.

Other foods such as asparagus, persimmons, and red bell peppers can also add lycopene to your diet.

There are three different types of lycopene supplements available.

Lycopene may be sold in a "synthetic" form, created in a lab. There are also "extracted" forms of lycopene, which means chemistry is used to remove it from a food source, such as tomatoes. Lycopene from each source appears to act the same way, once inside your body.

A third type of supplement referred to as a "standardized tomato extract," contains lycopene combined with other nutrients that naturally occur in tomatoes. This typically includes the antioxidants vitamin E and vitamin A among other nutrients.

Lycopene is a plant chemical called a carotenoid. It's found in foods like tomatoes, watermelons, and sweet red peppers, giving them their distinct pink-red color. Lycopene is thought to be good for bone health and, as a potent antioxidant, may help protect against heart disease, and certain types of cancer. It may also help with high blood sugar.

Reach out to your registered dietitian nutritionist or healthcare provider for more guidance on adding more lycopene to your diet.

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By Brandon Petrovich, RD& peer-reviewed author with over five years of work in nutrition and healthcare.