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Lycopene ( Tomato ) Extract - Water Based
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Product Code: LYCO-PX
Lycopene ( Solanum Lycopersicum ), from the neo-Latin lycopersicum, the tomato species, is a bright red carotene and carotenoid pigment and phytochemical found in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables, such as red carrots, watermelons and papayas, although not in strawberries, or cherries. Although lycopene is chemically a carotene, it has no vitamin A activity. Foods that are not red may also contain lycopene, such as asparagus and parsley.
In plants, algae, and other photosynthetic organisms, lycopene is an important intermediate in the biosynthesis of many carotenoids, including beta-carotene, which is responsible for yellow, orange, or red pigmentation, photosynthesis, and photoprotection. Like all carotenoids, lycopene is a polyunsaturated hydrocarbon, i.e. an unsubstituted alkene. Structurally, lycopene is a tetraterpene and assembled from eight isoprene units that are composed entirely of carbon and hydrogen. It is insoluble in water. Lycopene's eleven conjugated double bonds give its deep red color and its antioxidant activity. Fruits and vegetables that are high in lycopene include autumn olive, tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit, pink guava, papaya, seabuckthorn, wolfberry (goji, a berry relative of tomato), and rosehip. The lycopene content of tomatoes depends on species and increases as the fruit ripens.
Unlike other fruits and vegetables, where nutritional content such as vitamin C is diminished upon cooking, processing of tomatoes increases the concentration of bioavailable lycopene. Lycopene in tomato paste is up to four times more bioavailable than in fresh tomatoes.
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Note that there are some resources which make the mistaken assumption that all red fruits contain lycopene, when in fact many are pigmented by other chemicals. An example is the blood orange, which is colored by anthocyanins, while other red colored oranges, such as the Cara cara navel, and other citrus fruit, such as pink grapefruit, are colored by lycopene.
Suggested Cosmetic Uses:
Lycopene Extract can be used in skin and hair care products. Lycopene is a powerful anti-oxidant which is helpful in fighting free radicals which is a factor of skin ageing.
Lycopene ( Tomato ) Extract - Water Based
$3.40