Lycopene

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Heart and blood vessel health¹

  In people, lycopene in the diet affects blood fats, blood pressure and inflammation, which may help heart health.

• Open question

  Health after menopause²

  In postmenopausal women, low lycopene levels are linked to a higher risk of chronic diseases.

• Benefit

  Skin sun protection³

  In people, eating tomato and lycopene supplements reduced skin redness and pigmentation after sun exposure.

• Benefit

  Skin protection from sun⁴

  Eating lycopene or tomato products for several weeks made people's skin less sensitive to sunburn.

• Benefit

  Facial skin and acne risk⁵

  In people, lycopene-enriched ice cream reduced signs that plain ice cream might lead to acne.

• Benefit

  Prostate cancer risk⁶

  In men at high heart risk, eating more lycopene was linked to fewer prostate cancer cases.

• Concern

  How much the body absorbs⁷

  In people, calcium taken with a meal cut how much lycopene the body absorbed from tomatoes.

Animal and lab studies only

• Concern

  Liver enzyme changes⁹

  In animal studies, lycopene was linked to lasting rises in liver enzymes, but experts disagree on what that means.

• Benefit

  Chronic disease prevention¹⁰

  In animal and lab studies, lycopene showed promise for preventing chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease.

• Benefit

  Radiation damage to cells¹¹

  In lab and animal studies, lycopene helped protect cells from damage caused by radiation.

• Benefit

  Age-related memory loss¹²

  In animal studies, lycopene supplements helped older mice remember better and reduced brain inflammation.

Study type not stated

• Open question

  Memory and thinking with age⁸

  Scientists do not yet know whether lycopene helps keep memory and thinking sharp as people age.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least two findings in people. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.