Maciej Rutkowski, Krzysztof Grzegorczyk, Adam Stefańczyk

Likopen - naturalny karotenoid niezbędny dla zdrowia i urody
2006-12-01

Lycopene - a short characteristics of the natural carotenoid necessary for health and beauty. Lycopene is a natural carotenoid synthetised in numerous vegetables and fruits. The main sources of the compound are: tomatoes, paprika, watermelon, hawthorn and wild rose. Humans and animals cannot synthesize the compound (just like any other carotenoids) - so it must be supplied with food. Lycopene is considered the precursor of all the rest of carotenoids. There are no unequivocal data which would define regular concentration of this compound in blood plasma for the human population. It is believed that this concentration should be 0.5-1.0 mol/l for both sexes, and the concentration is under influence of numerous factors. Antioxidative and nonantioxidative properties of lycopene give hope for its future utilisation in therapy and prevention of many diseases, especially those belonging to the circle of the, so called, civilizationrelated diseases.