Chinese researchers report that supplementing with lycopene, the carotenoid that give tomatoes their red colour, may be as effective as statin drugs in reducing plaque formation in the arteries. If the results of the animal study can be repeated in humans, they will add to the body of research supporting the potential heart health benefits of lycopene, best known for benefits in prostate health.
Lycopene, found in tomatoes, may have a role in heart health.
Researchers from Central South University in Changsha, China divided 40 male adult rabbits into five equal groups to consume a standard diet; a high-fat diet; a high-fat diet plus 4 or 12mg/kg of lycopene; or the high-fat diet plus 10mg/kg of fluvastatin. The animals consumed the test diets for eight weeks.
They found that the animals fed only the high-fat diet had higher levels of total and LDL cholesterol, triacylglycerols and oxidised LDL than animals fed the standard diet. However, animals fed the high-fat diet and supplemented with lycopene or fluvastatin had improved levels of these biomarkers. In each case, the lycopene worked better than the statin drug.
"Lycopene intervention reduced the increase in ox-LDL levels in rabbits on the high-fat diet, whereas fluvastatin did not show such an effect. The cause of this difference is at present not known, although the result speaks in favour of lycopene," the researchers reported.
"These findings provide a theoretical rationale for the use of lycopene as a preventive in atherosclerosis," they concluded.
Source: Nutrition, Jun 30, 2008 (doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2008.05.006)
