LYCOPENE COMMON NAME

Lycopene

TOP BENEFITS OF LYCOPENE

Support brain function*
Supports antioxidant defenses*
Supports gut microbiota*
Supports healthy aging*

WHAT IS LYCOPENE?

Lycopene is one member in a class of natural pigments called carotenoids—carotenoids are fat-soluble yellow, orange, or red pigments. Lycopene is on the red end of the carotenoid pigment color continuum. The main dietary source is red tomatoes and tomato products—over 80% of the lycopene in American diets comes from tomato products—but lycopene can be found in lower amounts in some other pink-red colored foods such as watermelon and grapefruit. Lycopene is a plant defense compound, acting to protect tomatoes, as an example, against environmental stress such as sunlight. Since it is fat-soluble, lycopene is active in places with high lipid content, where it’s a powerful antioxidant. These places include cell membranes (which have a lipid bilayer), mitochondria, and the brain and nervous system. There is a growing body of research, mostly in animals, suggesting that lycopene supports protective, repair and regenerative processes in the brain. 

NEUROHACKER’S LYCOPENE SOURCING

Lycopene is Non-GMO and Vegan.

LYCOPENE DOSING PRINCIPLES AND RATIONALE

One of our dosing principles is to determine whether there is a dosing range, in which many of the benefits occur and above which there appears to be diminishing returns (i.e., a threshold), and to provide a dose within this threshold range (see Neurohacker Dosing Principles). We consider lycopene to be one of these threshold compounds. While a wide range of doses of lycopene have been used in studies, functional benefits have been reported even at the lower to more moderate doses. And because lycopene is fat-soluble, and like other fat-soluble compounds, accumulates over time, lower amounts are needed when it will be given over longer periods of time. 

LYCOPENE KEY MECHANISMS

Brain function

Supports serotonin signaling ^[1,2]

Supports adrenergic signaling ^[1]

Supports dopaminergic signaling ^[1,2]

Supports GABA-Glutamate signaling ^[2]

Supports brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) ^[3–5]

Supports synaptic transmission ^[6]

Supports neural stem cells ^[7]

Supports neuroprotective functions ^{[3–6,8–13]}

Supports brain mitochondrial function ^[4,13,14]

Supports hearing ^[15,16]

Supports neural phase II detoxifying/antioxidant enzymes ^[3]

Antioxidant defenses

Supports antioxidant defenses ^{[3,7,17–20]}

Supports Nrf2 signaling ^[3,9]

Counters oxidative stress and ROS levels ^{[3,7,18–21]}

Gut microbiota

Supports the composition of the gut microbiota ^[22] 

Supports intestinal barrier integrity ^[6,23]

Immune system

Supports adaptive immunity ^[19,24–26]

Healthy aging and longevity

Supports a healthy metabolism ^[6,22,23]

Supports mitochondrial function ^[23]

Supports cardiovascular health ^[18,27]

Supports immune cell function ^[19]

Supports stem cells ^[7,21]

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