Introducción a los El licopeno

Lycopene is a natural pigment contained in plants and is by far one of the strongest antioxidants found in nature. Mainly found in the ripe fruit of the nightshade tomato. It is currently the strongest antioxidant found in nature. Science has proved that singlet oxygen and oxygen free radicals in the human body are the main culprits against the body's own immune system. Lycopene is far more effective in scavenging free radicals than other carotenoids and vitamin E, and its rate constant for quenching singlet oxygen is 100 times that of vitamin E. It can effectively prevent various diseases caused by aging and weakened immunity.

Lycopene is widely found in plant fruits or other tissues in the valley, among which the content of fruits is the highest. Common tomatoes, carrots, watermelons, persimmons, cabbage and red olive oil are rich in lycopene.

The industry mainly uses tomatoes and autumn olives to extract and produce lycopene products. The human body cannot synthesize lycopene by itself, it can only be ingested by eating fruits and vegetables. And lycopene is widely distributed in the human body, and the shadow of lycopene can be seen in many organs and tissues, which shows that lycopene is of great significance to the human body.

Lycopene is a fat-soluble pigment and can generally be directly extracted by solvent. In addition, there are supercritical CO2 extraction method, HPLC method, enzymatic method, microbial fermentation, and direct crushing extraction method. Among them, the supercritical CO2 extraction method overcomes the shortcomings of the solvent method of poor quality, solvent residue, low purity, high toxicity and large pollution.

In addition to the above methods of using tomatoes as raw materials, lycopene is prepared by algae, fungi, and yeast fermentation. At present, there are red bacteria rich in lycopene; using mold fermentation, a Japanese patent introduces the use of tomato peels for their own enzymatic reactions. A method for extracting or preparing lycopene.

Under slightly alkaline conditions, the pectinase and cellulase in the tomato peel are reacted to decompose pectin and cellulose, so that the protein complex of lycopene is dissolved from the cells, thereby obtaining a water-dispersible pigment.

what is lycopene good for

Lowering blood lipids and blood pressure: In order to explore the effect of lycopene on blood lipids, researchers around the world have carried out a number of animal and human experimental studies. Australian scientists collected 12 international population studies on the effect of lycopene on blood lipids and blood pressure and found that human body supplementation with lycopene can inhibit the formation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol oxidation products, prevent the occurrence of coronary heart disease, and affect blood lipids and blood pressure. control has a positive effect. A Cambridge University study announced at the American Heart Association's annual meeting found that scientists' newly developed artificial lycopene Ateronon has unique effects in improving blood vessel elasticity and reducing arterial stiffness.

Antioxidant effect: Lycopene can most effectively remove free radicals in the human body, maintain normal cell metabolism, and prevent aging. Known as the "gold hidden in tomatoes", it has been recognized as a Category A nutrient by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Committee on Food Additives and the World Health Organization. Scientists from the Duke Medical Research Center in the United States summarized the relevant international studies on lycopene's ability to enhance the human body's antioxidant capacity and pointed out that long-term supplementation of lycopene (25-30mg/d) can enhance the antioxidant level and improve the body's antioxidant capacity. Antioxidant capacity.

Protect the prostate:

In men, lycopene is mainly distributed in the testis, anterior space, adrenal gland, liver and other tissues, which can help prevent and improve urinary system diseases such as prostatic hyperplasia and prostatitis, and help improve the quality of male sperm and reduce the risk of infertility. A study from Harvard University in the United States found that carotenoids have a certain relationship with prostate cancer, and in the study of carotenoids, only lycopene had a clear protective effect. Men who took the highest doses of lycopene in their diet (above 6.5 mg per day) were associated with a 21 percent lower risk of prostate cancer compared with those who took the least. The chemical structure of lycopene is very similar to that of the prostatic hypertrophy drug finasteride, which may be the mechanism by which lycopene reduces prostatic hypertrophy.

Protect the skin:

Excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays can lead to varying degrees of skin damage, resulting in erythema, accelerated wrinkles, pigmentation, and even skin cancer. The reason is that ultraviolet rays can induce singlet oxygen and free radicals in the skin, and lycopene can effectively eliminate singlet oxygen in the skin and combine with free radicals to protect skin tissue from damage, and also has a significant fading effect on age spots.

Protect the nervous system:

The brain is an organ that consumes a lot of oxygen. Excessive reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress can lead to many neurological diseases. Common neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease, have oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction as their main pathogenesis. Lycopene can slow nerve damage through related pathways. Epidemiological studies have confirmed that long-term intake of lycopene-rich foods can effectively improve the cognitive and memory abilities of the elderly. Lycopene has the ability to prevent neurodegenerative diseases. occur or develop.

Preventive and auxiliary anti-cancer effects:

As an antioxidant, lycopene can scavenge free radicals and prevent oxidative damage to lipoproteins and DNA, thereby preventing the occurrence of cancer. As early as the 1950s, American medical experts first reported that lycopene has an auxiliary anti-cancer effect. A new study finds that lycopene may help older women stave off the threat of kidney cancer. Studies have shown that lycopene has a certain auxiliary inhibitory effect on digestive tract cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, skin cancer, bladder cancer, etc.

hangover:

Lycopene also has a strong hangover effect. The metabolic process of alcohol in the human body is mainly a redox reaction, which produces a large amount of free radicals. Taking lycopene at ordinary times can increase the amount of alcohol; taking it before drinking has a significant anti-alcoholic effect, which can reduce the damage of alcohol to the liver; and taking it after being drunk can reduce the symptoms of intoxication such as headache and vomiting.

Sin efectos secundarios:

Lycopene has no side effects and is very suitable for long-term health care.

Lycopene absorption process

The absorption process of lycopene in the human body is shown in Figure 2, and it mainly goes through three stages, including release from food matrix, dissolution into fat particles and micelleization. In the oral and gastric digestion stage, the release of lycopene and fat is mainly promoted by chewing and enzymatic digestion of carbohydrates such as starch and a small amount of fat (less than 10%). The released lycopene dissolves in fat particles and passes through the stomach. peristalsis to form emulsified oil. After entering the duodenum, due to the action of bile salts, the emulsified oil particles are reduced, the fat is digested by lipase, and lycopene is released. The released lycopene, bile salts, and digested cholesterol form micellar particles. Studies have shown that long-chain triglycerides are more effective in promoting the formation of micellar particles than medium- and short-chain triglycerides, and micellar lycopene can bind to the transport protein SR-B1 and be absorbed by small intestinal epithelial cells. , so as to be used by the human body. The release of lycopene from chromoplasts, lycopene-dependent emulsification and formation of micelles are important limiting factors for lycopene bioavailability. Therefore, the factors that can improve the efficiency of the lycopene absorption stage can all promote the improvement of the bioavailability of lycopene.

Factors Affecting Lycopene Bioavailability:

The nutritional value of a bioactive ingredient depends on its bioavailability, which is the proportion that leaves the food matrix and crosses the intestinal barrier to target cells. The properties and status of lycopene, food matrix, interaction between lycopene and other nutrients, and intestinal health can affect the bioabsorption of lycopene, and therefore have an important impact on the bioavailability of lycopene.

Types of Lycopene:

Lycopene has 11 conjugated double bonds and 2 non-conjugated double bonds. The structure of this conjugated double bond allows lycopene to produce various types of cis-trans isomers. In natural fruits and vegetables, more than 90% of lycopene exists in all-trans configuration, while in human tissues and serum, only cis-lycopene exists, of which 5-cis, 9-cis, 13-cis and 15-cis lycopene account for about 50% of the total lycopene. Studies have shown that cis-lycopene has strong polarity, is not easy to crystallize, and is more soluble in micelles to be absorbed and utilized by the human body. 5 times.

Food base:

The matrix in which lycopene is located plays an important role in its bioavailability. The composition of the different cell walls, as well as the structure of the chromoplast (which varies with the matrix), can affect lycopene bioavailability. Lycopene embedded in the chloroplasts of fruits and vegetables is an important factor limiting the bioavailability of lycopene from dietary sources .

Interactions between food components:

Other nutrients (such as lipids, proteins, dietary fibers, minerals, etc.) ingested in the body along with lycopene will affect the absorption and metabolism of lycopene. Divalent minerals may affect lycopene bioavailability by preventing lycopene transport from lipid droplets to the formed mixed micelles by forming insoluble lipid-soap complexes. The molecular weight, residue composition and hydrophobic properties of soluble dietary fiber can all affect the formation of lycopene micelle particles, thereby limiting the absorption of lycopene.

Influence of host factors:

The absorption and metabolism of carotenoids varies among species. In humans and a few mammals, most carotenoids can be completely absorbed by intestinal mucosal cells; in rodents, some carotenoids cannot be absorbed. Several studies in recent years have shown that some host-related factors, including disease state, body weight, alcohol consumption, smoking, drug intake, age, and genetics, can have a certain impact on the bioavailability of lycopene. There are results showing that the bioavailability of lycopene is significantly reduced in elderly subjects. There is high individual variability in carotenoid bioavailability, partly due to genetic polymorphisms, and it has been shown that inter-individual variability affects plasma lycopene concentrations and thus lycopene bioavailability.

The mechanism of promoting lycopene absorption: To improve the bioavailability of lycopene, the following two aspects can be studied: on the one hand, the cell wall and chromosomal subcellular structure can be destroyed during processing to promote the release of lycopene; On the one hand, a new food dispersion system was constructed by constructing emulsions and co-digesting with oils to promote the formation of chylomicron micelles. The processing of food materials, the construction of emulsions and the co-digestion of lycopene and oils are all effective methods to improve the bioavailability of lycopene.