Lycopene from heat-induced cis-isomer-rich tomato sauce is more bioavailable than from all-trans-rich tomato sauce in human subjects

• Published in: British journal of nutrition Vol. 98; no. 1; pp. 140 - 146
• Main Authors: Unlu, Nuray Z., Bohn, Torsten, Francis, David M., Nagaraja, Haikady N., Clinton, Steven K., Schwartz, Steven J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.07.2007
• Subjects: administration & dosage; Adult; adults; Anticarcinogenic Agents; Anticarcinogenic Agents - administration & dosage; Anticarcinogenic Agents - blood; Anticarcinogenic Agents - pharmacokinetics; Area Under Curve; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Availability; blood; Carotenoids; Carotenoids - administration & dosage; Carotenoids - blood; Carotenoids - pharmacokinetics; chemistry; Cholesterol; Cholesterol - blood; Cis- and trans-lycopene; cis-isomers; Condiments; Cross-Over Studies; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Food Handling; Food Handling - methods; food processing; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Heat processing; heat treatment; Hot Temperature; human nutrition; Humans; Intestinal Absorption; Intestinal Absorption - physiology; Isomerism; isomerization; isomers; Lipoproteins; Lipoproteins - blood; lycopene; Lycopersicon esculentum - chemistry; Male; men; methods; nutrient availability; nutrition research; pharmacokinetics; physiology; Plasma triacylglycerol-rich lipoprotein fraction; Postprandial absorption; Postprandial Period; Postprandial Period - physiology; Solanum lycopersicum; test meals; tomato sauce; Triglycerides; Triglycerides - blood; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; women; Heat processing; Postprandial absorption; Cis- and trans-lycopene; Plasma triacylglycerol-rich lipoprotein fraction; Human; Temperature; Postprandial; Environmental factor; Cis- and trans-lycopene: Heat processing: Postprandial absorption: Plasma triacylglycerol-rich lipoprotein fraction; Lipoprotein; Tomato; Lycopene; Isomer; Blood plasma; Vertebrata; Heat; Absorption; Mammalia; Triacylglycerol
• ISSN: 0007-1145; 1475-2662
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007114507685201

Lycopene is present mainly as cis-isomers in human serum and tissues whereas all-trans-lycopene predominates in tomato products, suggesting that all-trans-lycopene is isomerised in the body or is less bioavailable. The objectives of the present study were to develop processing conditions for tomatoes to obtain products with different cis-trans-lycopene isomer distribution and to assess their bioavailability. Healthy adult subjects (n 12) were recruited for this randomised cross-over trial. Each intervention was preceded by a 2-week washout period. Two tomato sauces, one rich in all-trans-lycopene (32·5 mg total lycopene/100 g sauce; 5 % cis-isomers), the other high in cis-lycopene (26·4 mg total lycopene/100 g sauce; 45 % cis-isomers), were produced by different heat-processing techniques. Each sauce (150 g) was served in a standardised meal at 08.00 hours after overnight fasting. Plasma TAG-rich lipoprotein fractions over 9.5 h following test-meal consumption as a measure of lycopene absorption were obtained and expressed as baseline-corrected area under the concentration v. time curves (AUC), using HPLC-electrochemical detection. AUC values adjusted for the amount lycopene consumed showed that total, total cis-, and all-trans-lycopene responses were significantly higher from the cis-isomer-rich sauce, compared with the all-trans-rich sauce, being 7·30 (sem 1·45) v. 4·74 (sem 1·08) nmol × h/l (P = 0·002), 3·80 (sem 0·76) v. 1·98 (sem 0·37) nmol × h/l (P = 0·0005) and 3·50 (sem 0·76) v. 2·76 (sem 0·76) nmol × h/l (P = 0·01), respectively. The present study demonstrates significant lycopene bioavailability from cis-lycopene-rich tomato sauce and highlights the importance of considering isomer-distribution for lycopene bioavailability. Furthermore, processing parameters can be controlled to alter isomer patterns of tomato products and influence lycopene bioavailability.