1994 Volume 47 Issue 2 Pages 93-99
The concentrations of lycopene and β-carotene in human serum were measured before and after continual ingestion of tomato juice. The change in the level of cholesterol during this period was investigated simultaneously. Sixty-five female students were divided into 4 groups. They ingested either 1, 2 or 3 cans of tomato juice per day and the control group received a can of apple juice per day for 4 weeks. The lycopene level in serum showed a significant increase following the ingestion of tomato juice. In the case of subjects ingesting 2 or 3 cans daily, the level in serum increased to over three times the level of serum lycopene determined at the start of the experiment. Although the β-carotene content of the tomato juice was about one-thirtieth that of lycopene, the β-carotene level in serum was about double in the sublects who ingested 3 cans daily. These results suggest that continual ingestion of tomato juice is effective for raising the serum levels of lycopene and β-carotene. Although most of the lycop ne in the tamato juice was the all-trans type, a large amount of the cis-isomer was detected in the serum of the subjects after tomato juice ingestion. This would be due mainly to the isomerization reaction in the body. No significant changes in the levels of serum lipids, such as LDL-cholesterol, were observed. This suggests that the increase in the level of carotenoid in serum by ingesting tomato juice dose not induce an increase in the level of serum lipid.
