Antioxidant capacity of lycopene-containing foods

Increased consumption of tomatoes and tomato products has been associated w ith decreased cancer risks. One fat-soluble compound identified in tomatoes which may be responsible for this association is lycopene. There may, howe ver, be other antioxidants present in tomato-based foods, and total antioxi dant capacity may be another way to rate the health benefits of these foods . In this work, we examined the Trolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEA C) of aqueous and organic extracts of lycopene-containing foods: ketchup, f resh tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, tomato soup, tomato juice, veget able juice, canned tomatoes and watermelon. Antioxidant activity in these f ood extracts was greater in the aqueous versus organic fractions, except fo r watermelon and tomato sauce where the levels were similar in the two frac tions. Lycopene levels in the food samples tested, however, were relatively greater in the organic fractions, with the exception of the two juices, wh ich had similar levels in the two fractions, and two highly concentrated to mato products, tomato paste and ketchup, which had relatively higher lycope ne levels in the aqueous fractions. The foods with the highest antioxidant capacity per serving overall (tomato soup was highest) did not have the hig hest lycopene levels. This indicates that it may be important to consume a variety of tomato-containing products in order to obtain the largest variet y of dietary antioxidants possible.