Natural lycopene is mainly found in red fruits and vegetables. The content of lycopene in ripe tomatoes ranges from 0.03 mg/g to 0.14 mg/g. It has the reputation of "the gold hidden in the tomato", and the lycopene content is positively correlated with the ripeness of the tomato.
Lycopene Benefits
Lycopene is a carotenoid with strong antioxidant capacity in nature. Its antioxidant activity is 100 times that of vitamin E and more than 2 times that of β-carotene. Through continuous research on the biological function of lycopene, it has been shown that the biological activity of lycopene is stronger than that of other carotenoids, such as important biological functions such as anti-oxidation, lowering blood lipids, anti-cancer, and improving body immunity.
Physicochemical Properties Of Lycopene
The molecular formula of lycopene is C40H56 and the relative molecular mass is 536.88. Melting point 176 ℃. The molecule contains 11 conjugated bonds and 2 non-conjugated carbon-carbon double bonds. As shown below.
The carbonyl group in the chemical structure of lycopene determines that it is insoluble in water, insoluble in strong polar solvents (methanol, ethanol), easily soluble in chloroform and benzene, and soluble in lipids and non-polar solvents. It is a fat-soluble pigment. The solubility of lycopene increases with increasing temperature. And the higher the purity, the less soluble it is.
Studies have found that cooking tomatoes can improve the utilization of lycopene in tomatoes and tomato products. The contained lycopene can be better absorbed by the human body, the main reason is that lycopene is prone to isomerization, from trans isomerization to cis isomerization. In addition, lycopene has poor stability, is easily degraded by oxidation and undergoes cis-trans isomerization reaction, and is sensitive to light, oxygen, acid, heat, oxidants, and metal ions such as Fe3+ and Cu2+. Basically lost.
Commercial processing usually uses microencapsulation, liposome, nanodispersion, embedding, and emulsification technology. This can effectively improve the problems of poor stability of lycopene and its low bioavailability due to its fat solubility.