Lee Swanson Research Update

Lycopene May Protect Skin by Working from Within

May 2008

Consuming lycopene-rich tomato paste may protect against sunburn and sun-induced skin ageing, according to British researchers.

Subjects who consumed tomato paste were found to have 33% more protection against sunburn, compared to the control group, researchers from the Universities of Newcastle and Manchester told those attending the British Society for Investigative Dermatology annual meeting in April.

The researchers recruited 20 people and randomly assigned them to receive 55 grams (five tablespoons) of standard tomato paste with 10 grams of olive oil daily, or just olive oil, for 12 weeks.

The skin of the volunteers was exposed to UV light at the start and end of the trial, and the researchers found that the tomato paste-supplemented group had 33% more protection against sunburn than the olive oil only group.

The benefits of the tomato paste were attributed to the lycopene content, which may neutralize the harmful effects of UV light due to the excess production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can damage important skin structures.

Skin samples taken from the subjects indicated that the tomato paste-supplemented individuals had higher skin levels of pro-collagen, a molecule that gives the skin its structure and loss of which leads to skin ageing and lack of elasticity.

Co-researcher Professor Lesley Rhodes said: “The tomato diet boosted the level of pro-collagen in the skin significantly. These increasing levels suggest potential reversal of the skin ageing process. This is in addition to the significant reduction in sunburn.”

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