• Noa Markovits, Ami Ben Amotz, and Yishai Levy.
• Department of Medicine D, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.
• Isr Med Assoc J. 2009 Oct 1; 11 (10): 598601598-601.

BackgroundFat tissue mediates the production of inflammatory cytokines and oxidative products, which are key steps in the development of type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis. Antioxidant-rich diets protect against chronic diseases. Antioxidants may interfere with pro-inflammatory signals.ObjectivesTo investigate the effect of the potent tomato-derived antioxidant carotenoid, lycopene, on plasma antioxidants (carotenoids and vitamin E), inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha) and oxidation products (conjugated dienes).MethodsEight obese patients (body mass index 37.5 +/- 2.5 kg/m2) were compared with a control group of eight lean, age and gender-matched subjects (BMI 21.6 +/- 0.6 kg/m2), before and after 4 weeks of lycopene supplementation (tomato-derived Lyc-O-Mato) (30 mg daily).ResultsPlasma carotenoids were significantly reduced in the obese compared to control subjects (0.54 +/- 0.06 vs. 0.87 +/- 0.08 microg/ml, P < 0.01). CRP levels were significantly higher (6.5 vs. 1.1 mg/L, P = 0.04) in obese vs. controls, as were IL-6 and conjugated dienes (3.6 and 7.9-fold, respectively). CRP, IL-6 and conjugated dienes correlated with BMI, while IL-6 and conjugated dienes correlated inversely with carotenoids (P < 0.05). Following lycopene treatment, a significant elevation of plasma carotenoids (1.79 vs. 0.54 microg/ml) and specifically lycopene (1.15 vs 0.23 microg/ml) (P < 0.001) occurred in the treatment vs. the placebo group, respectively. Markers of inflammation and oxidation products were not altered by lycopene.ConclusionsObese patients showed abnormally higher markers of inflammation and oxidation products and lower plasma carotenoids. The lack of reduction of pro-inflammatory markers could be attributed to the short period of the study and the small number of participants. More studies are needed on the protective qualities of natural antioxidant-rich diets against obesity-related co-morbidities.

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