Lycopene Consumption May Protect Skin from Sun

Lycopene is a well know carotenoid found in high levels of in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables. Lycopene is most widely known for its link to reduced risk of prostate cancer and its potential heart benefits. However, recent research has found benefits to the skin from consuming lycopene and other carotenoids (see the May 2007 article on lutein and zeaxanthin).

Research presented at the annual meeting of the British Society for Investigative Dermatology at the University of Oxford on April 8, 2008, found a distinct advantage in UV light protection among those consuming lycopene. In the study, 20 people were randomly assigned to eat 55 grams of tomato paste (about 5 tablespoons) and 10g of olive oil, or just 10g of olive oil daily for 12 weeks. The volunteers' skin was then exposed to UV light for a specific period of time at the beginning and the end of the study. Those who ate the tomato paste had about 33% more protection against sunburn than those who did not eat the tomato paste. This level of protection equates to SPF 1.3, which is obviously quite low, but still a significant improvement over the control group. The researchers linked the improvement to increased levels of lycopene. Skin samples taken from the participants also found that those who ate the tomato paste had more procollagen. Procollagen is a molecule associated with skin structure, that prevents the sagging of skin. Levels of procollagen and collagen tend to drop with age. The researchers stated that the high levels of procollagen suggest a potential reversal of the skin aging process.

The benefits from the tomato paste were contributed to lycopene reducing the amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) created by the exposure to UV light. Regular readers of our newsletter will recognize ROS as a damaging oxidizing agent that is associated with many inflammatory responses in the body.

While tomatoes are rich in lycopene, it is not available in raw tomatoes, only cooked tomatoes. Lycopene is fat-soluble, which means that fat (such as olive oil) must be present with the cooked tomatoes for the body to be able to absorb the lycopene from the tomatoes. That is why our lycopene supplement is a softgel in a base of soy and corn oil.

Learn more about lycopene here.

1. Rizwan, M., I. Rodriguez-Blanco, A. Harbottle, M. Birch-Machin, R.E.B. Watson, L.E. Rhodes (2008). Lycopene protects against biomarkers of photodamage in human skin. British Society for Investigative Dermatology Annual Meeting, Oxford, England.