ABSORPTION OF LYCOPENE FROM SINGLE OR DAILY PORTIONS OF RAW AND PROCESSED TOMATO

To study the relationship between lycopene intake and plasma concentra tion, ten healthy female subjects were given one or more portions of t omato puree or fresh raw tomato containing 16.5 mg total lycopene (all -trans + cis forms). In Expt 1 subjects (n 9) were randomly assigned t he single portions of the two tomato products and blood samples were c ollected to follow the change in plasma carotenoid concentrations with in the first 12 h and on each of the following 5 d (104 h). In Expt 2 subjects (n 10) were divided into two groups of five each receiving da ily dietary portions of tomato puree or fresh raw tomato containing 16 .5 mg total lycopene for 7 d. Fasting blood samples were collected dai ly. In Expt 1 the plasma total lycopene (all-trans + cis forms) concen tration, after the single portions of tomato puree and raw tomato, var ied significantly over time, with a first peak reached after 6 h, a fu rther increase after 12 h and a slow decrease until 104 h. In Expt 2, when the tomato products were given daily, there was a day-by-day incr ease in the plasma total lycopene concentration, and through the follo wing week of a diet without tomato there was a gradual decrease. Howev er, values did not return to basal concentrations. Plasma total lycope ne concentration was higher after the tomato puree intake than after t he raw tomato in both the first (F(1,8) 7.597; P < 0.025) and the seco nd experiments (F(1,8) 12.193; P < 0.01) demonstrating a significant e ffect of food matrix on absorption.