Lycopene

Studies in people

• Open question

  Breast cancer risk¹

  Lycopene may lower the risk of breast cancer in women, but studies disagree.

• Benefit

  Skin sun protection²

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

• Open question

  Memory and thinking as we age³

  Some studies link higher lycopene levels to better thinking, but scientists do not yet know whether lycopene is the reason.

• 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 raised lycopene in skin and seemed to reduce ice cream's acne-linked effects.

• Benefit

  Prostate cancer risk⁶

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

• Open question

  How much the body absorbs⁷

  In people, taking calcium with a tomato paste meal cut how much lycopene the body absorbed.

• Benefit

  Heart and blood sugar health⁸

  In human studies, lycopene was linked to protective effects on metabolic syndrome risk factors, though it is unclear which factors improve.

• Benefit

  Heart and cancer risk⁹

  Lycopene from tomatoes may lower the risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers, but the evidence is not strong.

• Benefit

  Male fertility¹¹

  In men, lycopene supplements slightly improved sperm concentration and nonprogressive motility, but other fertility measures stayed inconclusive.

• Open question

  Breast milk nutrients¹²

  Eating tomato paste raised lycopene levels in the breast milk of mothers in the study.

• No harm found

  Uterine fibroid risk¹³

  In women, eating more lycopene did not change the chances of developing uterine fibroids.

• Open question

  Heart and overall death risk¹⁴

  In people, lycopene levels linked to death risk differed between those with and without obesity.

• Benefit

  Bowel symptom control¹⁵

  People with ulcerative colitis in remission who ate more lycopene had less blood, mucus and pus in their stools.

Animal and lab studies only

• Concern

  Liver enzyme changes¹⁸

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

• Benefit

  Chronic disease prevention¹⁹

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

• Benefit

  Radiation damage to cells²⁰

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

• Benefit

  Age-related memory loss²¹

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

• Open question

  How much gets absorbed²²

  In lab studies, lycopene in a liquid meal dropped when metmyoglobin from red meat was present.

• Benefit

  Bone health after menopause²³

  In animal studies, lycopene increased bone-building cells and reduced bone-breaking cells after ovary removal.

Study type not stated

• Benefit

  Heart health¹⁶

  Lycopene from tomatoes may help blood pressure, cholesterol and inflammation, but scientists still need more studies in people.

• Benefit

  Cancer protection from diet¹⁷

  Eating lycopene from tomatoes may help protect against some cancers, but scientists do not yet know for sure.

How it’s made and used

• Nutrient absorption from food¹⁰

  Lycopene from food is poorly absorbed, so low blood levels may not be fixed by diet alone.

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 one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. 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.

Expert panels that weigh all the research. Shown for context: the signal at the top does not count them.

• UN and WHO food additive experts (JECFA), 2009

  No daily limit needed (“ADI not specified”, JECFA’s term for very low toxicity).