J Nutr. 2005;135(11):2616-21.
Novel lycopene metabolites are detectable in plasma of preruminant calves
after lycopene supplementation.
Sicilia T, Bub A, Rechkemmer G, Kraemer K, Hoppe PP, Kulling SE.
Institute of Nutritional Physiology, Federal Research Centre for Nutrition and
Food, Karlsruhe, Germany.
Appropriate animal models such as preruminant calves are necessary to study the
complex physiological functions of carotenoids and to relate them to possible
health effects in humans. In this study, the bioavailability and metabolism of
lycopene from 2 dietary supplements were compared. LycoVit containing synthetic
lycopene and Lyc-O-Mato containing natural tomato oleoresin were administered
to 2 groups of preruminant calves (each n = 8) for 14 d in daily doses of 15 mg
of lycopene. Plasma was analyzed for carotenoids before the intervention
period, directly after, and each day for 5 d after the end of the intervention.
All-trans and 5-cis lycopene, and 3 lycopene metabolites not previously found
in calf plasma were detected. These metabolites contributed 52% of the total
lycopene content measured at the end of the intervention period. Based on
spectroscopic data, they might be hydrogenation products, which are formed from
all-trans and/or 5-cis lycopene. In the LycoVit group, total lycopene
concentrations were approximately 300% higher (286 +/- 89 nmol/L) than in the
Lyc-O-Mato group (72 +/- 33 nmol/L) (P < 0.001). This indicates that, unlike
in humans, lycopene from LycoVit and Lyc-O-Mato does not have equal
bioavailabilities in preruminant calves. Therefore, the preruminant calf may
not be a suitable animal model with which to study the biological and
physiological effects of lycopene.