Lycopene
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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