What is Lycopene?
Lycopene is an unsaturated carotenoid that imparts red color to tomatoes, guava, watermelon and pink grapefruit. It is an antioxidant that neutralizes the negative effects of free radicals in the body which are injurious to cells and tissue.
How is Lycopene Absorbed?
The temperature changes involved in processing tomato products make lycopene chemically more likely to be absorbed by the gastrointestinal system. Lycopene in tomato sauce, paste, juice or ketchup is absorbed more efficiently by the body that lycopene from whole tomatoes (as in a salad).
Is Lycopene a Significant Carotenoid?
The concentration of lycopene in the human body and in our tissues would suggest that lycopene is a very important antioxidant. As a matter of fact, lycopene concentrations in body tissues is higher than all other carotenoids.
Rosehip, a wild fruit which is used more often recently to produce mark, jams and juices, showed remarkable contents of lycopene (12.9-35.2 mg/100 g).
Rosehip can be consumed whole or in jams and syrups.