Stability of Lycopene inside and outside the Flesh Cell, in Tomato Juice

Abstract

Comparative studies were carried out on stability of uniformly dispersed lycopene in broken cells and of granular lycopene in intact cells of tomato pulp.
There was no difference between two types of lycopene under the conditions of storage at room temperature (20-37°C, 6 months), of heating (95, 110, 120, 130°C, 10 minutes), and of sunlight (5 months inside a window), lycopene decreased 2% by light and 5-15% by heating in either type.
Lycopene by heating in the presence of FeIII, CuII, or SnII ions was little more stable than that by heating without ions. However, no difference was found on stability of lycopene in both types.
The role of natural antioxidants in thmato was discussed.