Introduction
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) affect a significant proportion of people worldwide. The development of cardiovascular disease is a complex process triggered by several ischemic factors as well as conditions such as high blood pressure, cholesterol levels, endothelial dysfunction, etc. Several natural substances protect the cardiovascular system and lower the risk of illness. Antioxidants are key molecules that reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Lycopene and other antioxidant-rich foods play an important role in sustaining heart health. Eighty percent of lycopene can be acquired from common vegetables like tomatoes, and it can prevent damage-causing cardiovascular diseases (CVD).
What Is Lycopene?
Lycopene is present in many natural products and is abundant in red fruits and vegetables. Lycopene-rich foods are tomatoes, watermelons, apricots, pink grapefruits, and pink guavas. Tomatoes are high in lycopene and include significant amounts of vitamins A, K, and C, fiber, carbohydrates, iron, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur. Tomato sauce and ketchup contain more lycopene than raw tomatoes. According to studies, lycopene benefits are higher in heat-treated tomatoes than in fresh tomatoes.
Furthermore, lycopene levels in tomatoes cultivated in fields are higher than in greenhouses. Lycopene is a natural supplement, and it is safe to take in large amounts without affecting human health or physiology. However, excessive consumption of lycopene causes lycopenodermia (orange or yellowish pigmentation of the skin) in preterm and low-birth-weight infants.
Though lycopene is good for a variety of disorders, it is particularly effective in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), the main cause of death worldwide. Numerous research on lycopene supplements have demonstrated positive results in reducing coronary artery disease and blood pressure. Safety evaluation tests showed no adverse reactions with moderate levels of lycopene ingestion. Since lycopene is a lipid-soluble antioxidant, medications like Probucol and Cholestyramine (cholesterol-lowering drugs) suppress lycopene blood levels due to gastrointestinal absorption difficulties.
What Is the Role of Lycopene in Heart Health?
Among all risk factors, nutrition remains the most important and flexible component that may be changed in various ways to prevent cardiovascular diseases. Lycopene has several cardiovascular benefits, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-atherogenic, antiplatelet, and cardioprotective effects. It also controls blood pressure, improves endothelial function (nitric oxide bioavailability and blood flow), and improves metabolic profile (impairing cholesterol synthesis).
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Atherosclerosis: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the leading causes of death in the world, accounting for almost 17 million deaths per year. CAD is the most common CVD, reaching nearly epidemic levels in many nations. It is a chronic inflammatory condition characterized by the remodeling of the coronary arteries due to internal channel narrowing and vascular hardening from plaque buildup. Lycopene inhibits the formation of foam cells and vascular smooth muscle cells, both of which have atherosclerotic properties, which may help prevent atherosclerosis or plaque accumulation in the arteries that can cause blockages and heart disease. Atherosclerosis may be prevented by circulating plasma lycopene, particularly in smokers. Carotid artery intima-media thickness and lycopene consumption are inversely correlated.
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Endothelial Health: The blood vessel lining is known as the endothelium. When endothelial function is intact, the blood arteries dilate and promote the maximum possible blood flow, supporting heart health. Hypertension is the source of endothelial dysfunction, exacerbating atherosclerosis and increasing atherosclerotic plaque instability. Consuming lycopene enhances endothelial function by lowering oxidative stress.
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Blood Pressure: Systemic arterial hypertension is defined as having a systolic blood pressure of more than 140 mmHg, a diastolic blood pressure of more than 90 mmHg, or both. It is the silent killer that continues to be the third-leading cause of death from cardiovascular disease, enhanced by smoking and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. A key contributing factor to both stroke and kidney failure is hypertension. Oxidative stress and inflammatory processes are linked to hypertension. Chronic hypertension has been linked to stroke, heart failure (HF), retinopathy, chronic heart disease (CHD), peripheral vascular disease, and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH).
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Lycopene has been shown to lower systolic blood pressure. Standardized tomato extract was considerably more effective in lowering systolic blood pressure. Lycopene supplementation (above 12 mg per day) was observed to reduce systolic blood pressure in individuals with prehypertensive and hypertensive conditions. However, diastolic blood pressure remains the same. The amount of lycopene in one medium (125-gram) tomato is around 3.2 mg. Supplementing with lycopene prevents modifications in hemodynamic parameters, apoptotic changes, and biochemical and inflammatory markers and decreases the degree of myocardial infarction due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions.
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Cholesterol: While additional research is needed, lycopene may also be beneficial in lowering potentially harmful cholesterol levels. Consuming at least 25 mg of lycopene daily can lower LDL (or "bad") cholesterol by about ten percent. This impact is similar to low doses of statin drugs, frequently used in patients with slightly increased cholesterol levels.
How to Increase the Consumption of Lycopene?
Consuming foods high in lycopene and dietary lipids increases the nutrient's bioavailability and intestinal absorption. Furthermore, research indicates that cooked tomatoes contain higher levels of lycopene than raw, fresh tomatoes. To extract the maximum lycopene from the tomatoes, try cooking them in the oven using a little olive oil sprayed over them. Including tomatoes regularly in the diet is a simple approach to boosting lycopene consumption. Increasing the amount of lycopene in the bloodstream may benefit the heart by addressing factors that affect circulation, cholesterol, blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease risk.
Conclusion
More research is required to find more lycopene metabolites and their biological functions, as this could provide critical insight into the processes behind lycopene's favorable effects in humans, particularly regarding chronic disease prevention. Higher lycopene intake is also associated with a decreased chance of death from injuries related to stroke, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. Future research should evaluate whether lycopene with higher bioavailability continues to have an antioxidant effect on cardiovascular indicators and lipoprotein oxidation over an extended period. Several studies are showing different benefits with different doses, but there are no clear criteria to identify an accurate dose for patients with hypertension and coronary artery disease. Therefore, research on the duration and dosage of lycopene supplementation is needed.
