Bioactive Stability and Antioxidative Property of Lycopene from Tomatoes during Processing

Lycopene is a natural pigment that contributes red color to fruits and vegetables. There are numerous epidemiological studies which have showed lycopenes possess strong antioxidant to provide protection against a broad range of chronic diseases and cancers, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, atherosclerosis, prostate cancer, lung cancer, and diabetes among others (Micozzi et  al., 1990; Kohlmeier et  al., 1997; Campbell et  al., 2004; Etminan et al., 2004; Kun et al., 2006; Kong et al., 2010; Ried and Fakler, 2011; Ankita et al., 2012). Therefore, the content and stability of lycopene in food has taken on added importance. Lycopene is a lipophilic compound, and belongs to the family of carotenoids. Moreover, among carotenoids, the quenching constant of lycopene was found to be more than double that of β-carotene and 10 times more than that of α-tocopherol, which makes its presence in the diet of considerable interest (Bohm et al., 2001; Cao-Hoang et al., 2011). Levy et al. (1995)CONTENTS20.1 Introduction 609 20.2 Physical and Chemical Properties of Lycopene 611 20.3 Lycopene Degradation during Processing 61320.3.1 Effect of Temperature on Lycopene Degradation 614 20.3.2 Effect of Light-Irradiation on Lycopene Degradation 619 20.3.3 Effect of Oxygen on Lycopene Degradation 62020.4 Lycopene Isomerization in Food Processing 623 20.5 Synergistic Effects 627 20.6 Stabilization Technologies of Lycopene 630 20.7 Summary 631 References 633