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Processing and Bioavailability (WG2) page 46
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The level of absorption determined in these studies is hugely different, and so we have
little reliable information at present to pass on to the industry and to the consumer. However,
the involvement of scientists undertaking E.U. funded research in this area will facilitate
access to new results which can be disseminated to the relevant industries via the activities of
this Concerted Action.
The currently available experimental data are not sufficient to recommend either the form
of the food, processing strategy or dietary composition which will result in defined
bioavailability.
The results of the review prompt us to state that, so long as lycopene remains within the
original hydrophilic matrix and, most of all, within a whole cell, it is considerably stable but
that, precisely because of the subsequent scarce reactivity, it is probably less bioavailable and
therefore it may be practically ineffective in exerting its potential antioxidant activity.
Conversely, when lycopene solubilizes in a lipophilic matrix, it is considerably reactive and
more available; therefore, it could efficiently perform its antioxidant activity. However, it is
obvious that this higher reactivity renders it much more unprotected against the degradation
activity of environmental conditions (air, biological matrix components, temperature).
In conclusion, we can affirm tomato products represent an important, indeed the only,
source of lycopene consumption both quantitatively (in amounts higher than those of fresh
fruits which, in addition, are often eaten at an incomplete stage of ripeness, when the lycopene
is present at lower levels) and qualitatively (i.e., in a form easier to attack and therefore more
available). The preparation of sauces in the presence of oil or fat allows lycopene to be
solubilized (particularly if the clot has no physical suitable defences, i.e. whole cell walls) and
to be more available for humans.
But it is also important to remember that, while lycopene in an aqueous matrix is very
stable and therefore able to keep its potential for a long time, in a lipid matrix it is much more
reactive and thus available, but also much more rapidly degradable.