Chinese Name: Lycopene mbth: Lycopene Molecular Formula: C40H56 Molecular Weight: 536.87 CASNo. : 502-65-8 Source: tomatoes, etc. Application: Nutrition and health care is suitable for people: athletes use it with caution, characteristics, physical and chemical properties, cis-trans isomerism, stability, physiological function, antioxidation, cancer prevention, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular protection, blood lipid reduction, improvement, skin protection, others, applicability, sports supplements, cosmetics, food and beverage. Lycopene is widely distributed in fruits, such as tomatoes, watermelons, plums, persimmons, peaches, papayas, mangoes, guavas, grapes, cranberries, clouds, oranges, teas, radishes, carrots and turnips. Different varieties of tomatoes, the maturity of tomatoes will also affect the lycopene content in tomatoes. According to statistics, tomatoes and various tomato products account for 85% of daily lycopene intake. Unlike other nutrients, such as vitamin C, it will be lost during cooking. Food processing of tomato will improve the bioavailability of lycopene. For example, the content in fresh tomatoes is about 30 ~ 50μ g/g, but the content of lycopene in tomato products is generally higher than that in fresh tomatoes, such as tomato sauce is about 490 ~ 940μ g/g, tomato juice is about10 ~10μ g/g, and tomato sauce is about 50 ~ 20μ g/g. But it is soluble in oil and closely combined with plant fiber, so cooking tomatoes, breaking them and adding oil can greatly improve the ability of the digestive system to absorb lycopene. Therefore, the bioavailability of processed tomato products such as tomato juice, soup and sauce is higher. Physical and chemical properties The chemical structure of lycopene is a linear hydrocarbon composed of 1 1 * * yoke and two carbon-carbon double bonds that are not * * * yoke. Under the microscope, it is a long needle-like crystal, dark purple-red. Soluble in fat, grease, ether, petroleum ether, hexane and acetone, the solubility increases obviously with the increase of temperature; Soluble in chloroform, carbon disulfide, benzene and other organic solvents; Insoluble in water; Insoluble in methanol and ethanol, it has a melting point of 169℃ and a strong absorption peak at 472 nm. Lycopene has no cyclic structure, so it does not show the physiological activity of vitamin A. As an unsaturated polymer, lycopene is very sensitive to oxidation. All factors that can lead to carotenoid oxidation, such as light, temperature, oxygen, pH and active surface, will affect lycopene. There are about 72 cis-trans isomers of lycopene. Lycopene in plants is almost always trans. Lycopene in most food raw materials is also in trans configuration, with only a few cis configurations, mainly 5- cis, 9- cis and 13- cis. In animals, cis isomers account for a large proportion. The content of lycopene in human serum is 0.2 ~ 1.0μ mol/L, which mainly exists in cis configuration, while trans configuration only accounts for 4 1%. The cis and trans isomers of lycopene are completely different in chemical and physical properties. Cis-structure is weak in color, low in melting point, small in extinction coefficient, strong in polarity, more soluble, and has a new absorption peak in ultraviolet spectrum. In addition, the proportion of cis-trans isomers in different tomato products is different, and the cis-trans isomers of lycopene can be transformed into each other under the conditions of light, heat, processing and storage. Lycopene in stable plants is relatively stable. As an unsaturated polymer, natural lycopene is easy to be oxidized after purification and separation, and its stability is poor. Illumination, temperature, oxygen, extremes, pH value and metal ions will all affect the stability of lycopene. Lycopene is very sensitive to light and will be lost quickly under sunlight and ultraviolet radiation. Lycopene is basically lost in sunlight for half a day and 40% in ultraviolet light for three days. Lycopene has good thermal stability and less heat loss. Common metal ions have different effects on the stability of lycopene. Potassium, sodium, magnesium and zinc have little effect on its stability, while iron and copper lose more lycopene, while iron and aluminum lose less. Lycopene is stable to alkali, and acid has destructive effect on lycopene, and its stability decreases with the increase of concentration. Lycopene is stable to oxidants. Reducing agents such as BHT and Vc can delay its oxidation. In addition, the lycopene in the original tomato fruit and organic solvent is relatively stable, and the separated pure lycopene is easy to change. Therefore, when storing or processing lycopene, we should try to avoid light and contact with iron and copper ions. Physiological antioxidant lycopene is an effective antioxidant, which can efficiently capture and quench singlet oxygen, inhibit the generation of free radicals or directly remove free radicals by physical or chemical means. The antioxidant capacity of lycopene is the strongest among natural carotenoids, which is related to its unique long-chain unsaturated molecular structure. The rate of lycopene quenching singlet oxygen is twice that of β-carotene and 0/00 times that of α-tocopherol. Lycopene can be excited by different electrons to produce ground state oxygen or triplet oxygen lycopene. Lycopene in triplets can eliminate thousands of singlet oxygen free radicals. Therefore, lycopene can effectively protect biofilm from oxygen free radicals and delay the aging of cells and human body through its antioxidant capacity. Rao and other studies show that diets containing lycopene from different sources can effectively increase the content of lycopene in serum and effectively reduce the level of oxidative stress. Studies by Subramanian et al. show that lycopene can scavenge hypochlorous acid, which can lead to tissue oxidation in cardiovascular diseases by modifying protein, deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid. Therefore, lycopene can reduce the damage of hypochlorous acid to the body. Anti-cancer Anti-cancer As early as the 1950s, American medical experts first reported that lycopene has anti-cancer effect. Later, through epidemiological investigation and many animal experiments, it was proved that lycopene has the function of preventing and inhibiting malignant tumors and cancers. The concentration of lycopene in blood is negatively correlated with the incidence of prostate cancer, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, breast cancer and skin cancer. Especially in the prevention of prostate cancer. Giovannui of Harvard University School of Public Medicine published an epidemiological study that eating tomato products can reduce the incidence of prostate cancer. This study proved that people who eat tomatoes regularly have a 45% lower risk of prostate cancer than those who don't eat tomatoes regularly. Wang Aihong's research on the effect of lycopene on the cell cycle and growth of breast cancer shows that lycopene inhibits the proliferation of breast cancer cells by blocking breast cancer cells (MCF-7) at G 0 /G 1 phase. Chai Jingbo's research shows that lycopene can improve the immune function of ovarian cancer-bearing rats, and its mechanism may be related to the fact that lycopene can effectively reduce the content of inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, TNF-α) and increase the CD4/CD8 ratio. Protecting lycopene from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases can completely remove vascular garbage, regulate plasma cholesterol concentration, protect low density lipoprotein (LDL) from oxidation, repair and improve oxidized cells, promote the formation of intercellular colloid, and enhance vascular elasticity. A survey shows that the concentration of serum lycopene is negatively correlated with the incidence of cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage. The anti-atherosclerosis study of lycopene on rabbits shows that lycopene can effectively reduce the levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in rabbits, and its effect is equivalent to that of fluvastatin sodium. Hsiao and other studies show that lycopene has a protective effect on local cerebral ischemia, mainly by inhibiting the activity of glial cells and eliminating free radicals, and reducing the area of cerebral perfusion injury. After Ahuja et al. supplemented 18 ~ 40-year-old adults with 19.5 mg/d 14d lycopene, it was found that people with low-fat diet, especially the experimental group of monounsaturated fatty acids, delayed LDL oxidative damage, increased HDL and decreased triglyceride levels. Ried et al.' s research shows that daily intake of lycopene ≥ 25mg can effectively reduce the LDL content of 10%, and its effect is comparable to that of low-dose statins in the treatment of hyperlipidemia, but whether the dose exceeding 25 ~ 44 mg/d can reduce the blood pressure of hypertensive patients needs further study. Improve the quality of * * * Recently, doctors in New Delhi, India found that lycopene can improve the quality of men. In this experiment, infertile men aged 23-45 were asked to take lycopene orally twice a day, 2 mg each time. After 3 months, check their concentration, activity and shape again. Three-quarters of male * * * have improved their activity ability and form, while 20 male * * * have improved their concentration. At the end of the experiment, the wives of six people were pregnant, so the results of this experiment have substantial statistical significance. The main reason is that the content of lycopene is higher in the testes of healthy men, but lower in the testes of infertile men. Oral lycopene has positive benefits in the treatment of unexplained male infertility, but the specific treatment plan still needs to be determined through large-scale randomized clinical trials. Lycopene for protecting skin also has the function of reducing skin damage caused by radiation or ultraviolet (UV). When skin is irradiated by ultraviolet rays, lycopene in skin combines with free radicals generated by ultraviolet rays to protect skin tissue from damage. Compared with the skin without ultraviolet irradiation, lycopene decreased by 365,438+0% ~ 46%, and the content of other components remained almost unchanged. Stahl et al. proved that foods rich in lycopene can resist ultraviolet rays and avoid erythema caused by ultraviolet rays. Lycopene can also quench free radicals in epidermal cells, and has obvious desalination effect on senile plaques. Another experiment found that when lycopene was added to the culture medium of macrophages, its cholesterol synthesis decreased. Lycopene also increased the activity of macrophage low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor and inhibited the synthesis of LDL cholesterol. Lycopene can also increase HDL cholesterol, decrease the activity of coagulation system, increase the activity of fibrinolysis system, and increase the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in serum and liver tissue. Lycopene has excellent repair function, which can start and repair damaged and aging islet cells and promote the normal secretion of insulin; Quickly decompose blood sugar components beyond physiological standards, promote biological oxidation of high-concentration blood sugar, form water and carbon dioxide, and excrete them; Eliminate the syndrome of "three more and one less" and lower blood sugar safely. According to Minter's "Global New Product Database" (GNPD), from 2003 to 20 10, there were 4 18 new products containing lycopene on the market all over the world. These products cover the fields of food, supplements and cosmetics, among which lycopene-containing supplements are the most popular products. According to the data of sports supplement GNPD, there are *** 177 new supplements containing lycopene in the world. According to the statistics of the US Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), there are 3 1 kind of lycopene health products that have won the national food hygiene word, including 2 kinds of imported health products and the rest are domestic health products. These 3 1 health products are mainly used for antioxidation, anti-aging, enhancing immunity, regulating blood lipid and so on. Two of them are tablets, 1 oil, and the rest are capsules. According to the data of cosmetics GNPD, there are 8 1 species of new skin care products containing lycopene and 5 1 species of cosmetics. Typical products such as lycopene moisturizing lotion have whitening and anti-aging effects. Domestic products have lycopene whitening essence daubing needle, which has antioxidant, antiallergic and whitening effects. Food and Beverage In the field of food and beverage, lycopene has been approved as a "new food" (generally considered safe) in Europe and GRAS, among which non-alcoholic beverages are the most popular. GNPD data shows that there are 20 new products: 7 in the field of bread and breakfast cereal; 7 kinds of processed meat, fish and eggs; 7 kinds of dairy products; 6 kinds in chocolate and candy fields; 5 kinds of sauces and seasonings; There are five kinds of desserts and ice cream. China patent 200810017681introduced a method of applying lycopene to dairy products, which not only kept the nutrition of dairy products but also enriched their health care functions.