Lycopene in protection against obesity and diabetes: A mechanistic review

Ruyuan Zhu; Beibei Chen; Ying Bai; Tianyi Miao; Li Rui; Hao Zhang; Bingke Xia; Yu Li; Sihua Gao; Xiang-Dong Wang; Dongwei Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.phrs.2020.104966

Lycopene in protection against obesity and diabetes: A mechanistic review

Pharmacol Res. 2020 Sep:159:104966. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2020.104966. Epub 2020 Jun 12.

Authors

Ruyuan Zhu¹, Beibei Chen¹, Ying Bai¹, Tianyi Miao¹, Li Rui¹, Hao Zhang¹, Bingke Xia¹, Yu Li², Sihua Gao¹, Xiang-Dong Wang³, Dongwei Zhang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Diabetes Research Center, Traditional Chinese Medicine School, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China.
² Department of Histo-Embryology, Traditional Chinese Medicine School, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China.
³ Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA, 02111, USA.
⁴ Diabetes Research Center, Traditional Chinese Medicine School, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China; Sino-Canada Anti-Fibrosis Center, Traditional Chinese Medicine School, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China. Electronic address: dongwei1006@gmail.com.

PMID: 32535223
DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2020.104966

Abstract

Lycopene, a natural pigment that mainly exists in the mature fruit of tomatoes, has gained increasing attention due to its protective effects against obesity and diabetes. The aim of this review is to summarize the potential mechanisms in which lycopene exerts protection against obesity and diabetes, along with highlighting its bioavailability, synthesis and safety. Literature sources used in this review were from the PubMed Database, China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database, China Science and Technology Journal Database, National Science and Technology Library, Wanfang Data, and the Web of Science. For the inquiries, keywords such as lycopene, properties, synthesis, diabetes, obesity, and safety were used in various combinations. About 200 articles and reviews were evaluated. Lycopene exhibits anti-obesity and anti-diabetic activities in different organs and/or tissues, including adipose tissue, liver, kidney, pancreas, brain, ovaries, intestine, and eyes. The underlying mechanism may be attributed to its anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and through its ability to regulate of AGE/RAGE, JNK/MAPK, PI3K/Akt, SIRT1/FoxO1/PPARγ signaling pathways and AchE activity. The epidemiological investigations support that lycopene consumption may contribute to lowering the risk of obesity and diabetes. The cis-isomers of lycopene are more bioavailable and better absorbed than trans-lycopene, and mainly distribute in liver and adipose tissue. Lycopene exhibits a good margin of safety and can be obtained by plant extraction, chemical synthesis and microbial fermentation. In summary, lycopene consumption beneficially contributes to protecting against diabetes and obesity in animal studies and epidemiological investigations, which supports the potential of this compound as a preventive/therapeutic agent against these disorders. Well-designed, prospective clinical studies are warranted to evaluate the potential therapeutic effect of lycopene against common metabolic diseases.

Keywords: Bioavailability; Diabetes; Lycopene; Obesity; Pharmacology; Safety.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Anti-Obesity Agents / pharmacokinetics
Anti-Obesity Agents / pharmacology*
Biological Availability
Diabetes Mellitus / epidemiology
Diabetes Mellitus / metabolism
Diabetes Mellitus / prevention & control*
Disease Models, Animal
Humans
Hypoglycemic Agents / pharmacokinetics
Hypoglycemic Agents / pharmacology*
Lycopene / pharmacokinetics
Lycopene / pharmacology*
Obesity / epidemiology
Obesity / metabolism
Obesity / prevention & control*
Signal Transduction

Substances

Anti-Obesity Agents
Hypoglycemic Agents
Lycopene