Effects of Lycopene Supplementation on Plasma and Tissue Lycopene Levels in Various Rodent Strains

Lycopene has been shown to have various biologic effects, and rats and mice are often used for elucidating its in vivo effects and mechanisms. Here, we compared plasma and tissue lycopene levels in F344 rats, BALB/c mice, nude mice, and gerbils by oral supplementation with lycopene (20 mg/kg BW · 2d) every other morning for 10 days. We found that livers accumulated substantially more lycopene than kidneys and that the hepatic lycopene contents varied greatly in these animals, with gerbils being most efficient (1432 ± 235 nmol/g), followed by nude mice (524 ± 133 nmol/g), F344 rats (28 ± 11 nmol/g), and BALB/c mice (5 ± 2 nmol/g). Plasma lycopene concentrations also varied greatly, of which the highest was found in gerbils (667 ± 160 nmol/L), followed by nude mice (224 ± 51 nmol/L), then by BALB/c mice and F344 rats (198 ± 52 and 139 ± 41 nmol/L, respectively). Interestingly, plasma and tissue β-carotene concentrations in these animals were markedly decreased by lycopene supplementation. To determine the s...