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•Lycopene is a natural, prominent, and effective product.•We have studied about the anti-cancer, anti-progressive and apoptotic effects.•Lycopene suppress the progression and ...proliferation.•Lycopene arrest in-cell cycle, and induct apoptosis of prostate cancer cells.•Lycopene could modulate the signaling pathways and their protein.
Studying prostate cancer is important due to its high annual incidences and mortality rates in the world. Although prostate cancer mortality rates are reduced using new therapy, complicated routes and side effects of these current drugs require a daily available treatment for prevention. Lycopene is a natural, prominent, and effective product which has a high value in diet. The anti-cancer effect, non-toxicity, safety and preventive or therapeutic roles of lycopene have been investigated in several studies. In the current review, we have collected information about the anti-cancer, anti-progressive and apoptotic effects of lycopene on prostate cancer. This article is a summary of the most important original and review articles on lycopene and its anticancer effects that are systematically categorized and presents information about the molecular structure, different sources, biological functions, and its in-vivo and in-vitro effects of lycopene on variety of cancerous and normal cells. The clinical studies provide a clear image for continuous use of this adjunctive dietary for different type of cancers, especially prostate cancer in men. In addition, this article discusses the various molecular pathways activated by lycopene that eventually prevent or suppress cancer. Lycopene has been found to effectively suppress the progression and proliferation, arrest in-cell cycle, and induce apoptosis of prostate cancer cells in both in-vivo and in-vitro conditions. Additionally, lycopene showed that it could modulate the signaling pathways and their protein for the treatment or prevention of prostate cancer.
This study aimed to explore whether allicin (ALC) and lycopene (LP) could offer protection against the harmful effects of methotrexate (MTX), a type of chemotherapy drug known for its severe side ...effects, on the heart of rats. In this experiment, seven groups of rats (
n
= 7) were used. The first group was given saline as a control vehicle, the second group was given ALC at a dosage of 20 mg/kg orally, the third group was given LP at a dosage of 10 mg/kg orally, and the fourth group was given MTX at a dosage of 20 mg/kg intraperitoneally on the 15
th
day of the experiment. The remaining three groups received treatments, including ALC + MTX, LP + MTX, and ALC + LP + MTX. After the administration of MTX, the concentrations of serum cardiac biomarkers, such as Creatine kinase (CK), Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and creatine kinase-myoglobin binding (CK-MB) were found to increase. Also, MTX caused a notable rise in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and significant declines in the levels of glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) in the heart tissues of rats. In addition, MTX caused alterations in the cardiac histopathology and enhanced the caspase-3 expression in the cardiac tissues, indicating the occurrence of apoptosis. The antioxidant properties of ALC and/or LP were effectively reduced cardiac toxicity and apoptosis induced by MTX. The administration of ALC and/or LP was found to alleviate these effects caused by MTX.
Carotenoids are essential phytonutrients synthesized by all photosynthetic organisms. Acyclic lycopene is the first branching point for carotenoid biosynthesis. Lycopene β- and ε-cyclases (LCYB and ...LCYE, respectively) catalyze the cyclization of its open ends and direct the metabolic flux into different downstream branches. Carotenoids of the β,β-branch (e.g., β-carotene) are found in all photosynthetic organisms, but those of the β,ε-branch (e.g., lutein) are generally absent in cyanobacteria, heterokonts, and some red algae. Although both LCYBs and LCYEs have been characterized from land plants, there are only a few reports on LCYs from cyanobacteria and algae. Here, we cloned four LCY genes from Porphyra umbilicalis and Pyropia yezoensis (susabi-nori) of Bangiales, the most primitive red algal order that synthesizes lutein. Our functional characterization in both Escherichia coli and Arabidopsis thaliana demonstrated that each species has a pair of LCYB and LCYE. Similar to LCYs from higher plants, red algal LCYBs cyclize both ends of lycopene, and their LCYEs only cyclize a single end. The characterization of LCYEs from red algae resolved the first bifurcation step toward β-carotene and lutein biosynthesis. Our phylogenetic analysis suggests that LCYEs of the green lineage and the red algae originated separately during evolution.
Industrial application of lycopene is limited due to its chemical instability and low bioavailability. This study proposes the development of fucan-coated acetylated cashew gum nanoparticles (NFGa) ...and acetylated cashew gum nanoparticles (NGa) for incorporation of the lycopene-rich extract from red guava (LEG). Size, polydispersity, zeta potential, nanoparticles concentration, encapsulation efficiency, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to characterize nanoparticles. The antioxidant activity was determinated and cell viability was evaluated in the human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and human keratinocytes (HaCaT) by MTT assay. The toxic effect was evaluated by hemolysis test and by Galleria mellonella model. NFGa showed higher stability than NGa, having a size of 162.10 ± 3.21 nm, polydispersity of 0.348 ± 0.019, zeta potential -30.70 ± 0.53 mV, concentration of 6.4 × 109 nanoparticles/mL and 60% LEG encapsulation. Microscopic analysis revealed a spherical and smooth shape of NFGa. NFGa showed antioxidant capacity by ABTS method and ORAC assay. The NFGa presented significant cytotoxicity against MCF-7 from the lowest concentration tested (6.25-200 μg/mL) and did not affect the cell viability of the HaCaT. NFGa showed non-toxic effect in the in vitro and in vivo models. Therefore, NFGa may have a promising application in LEG stabilization for antioxidant and antitumor purposes.
•Nanocarrier based on fucan-coated acetylated cashew gum containing lycopene-rich extract from red guava was produced.•The fucan coating improved the encapsulation efficiency and physicochemical properties.•Lycopene-rich extract encapsulated was more stable than free extract.•Nanocarriers showed high cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells and low toxicity in normal model.
Summary
Grains of tetraploid wheat (Triticum turgidum L.) mainly accumulate the non‐provitamin A carotenoid lutein—with low natural variation in provitamin A β‐carotene in wheat accessions ...necessitating alternative strategies for provitamin A biofortification. Lycopene ɛ‐cyclase (LCYe) and β‐carotene hydroxylase (HYD) function in diverting carbons from β‐carotene to lutein biosynthesis and catalyzing the turnover of β‐carotene to xanthophylls, respectively. However, the contribution of LCYe and HYD gene homoeologs to carotenoid metabolism and how they can be manipulated to increase β‐carotene in tetraploid wheat endosperm (flour) is currently unclear. We isolated loss‐of‐function Targeting Induced Local Lesions in Genomes (TILLING) mutants of LCYe and HYD2 homoeologs and generated higher order mutant combinations of lcye‐A, lcye‐B, hyd‐A2, and hyd‐B2. Hyd‐A2 hyd‐B2, lcye‐A hyd‐A2 hyd‐B2, lcye‐B hyd‐A2 hyd‐B2, and lcye‐A lcye‐B hyd‐A2 hyd‐B2 achieved significantly increased β‐carotene in endosperm, with lcye‐A hyd‐A2 hyd‐B2 exhibiting comparable photosynthetic performance and light response to control plants. Comparative analysis of carotenoid profiles suggests that eliminating HYD2 homoeologs is sufficient to prevent β‐carotene conversion to xanthophylls in the endosperm without compromising xanthophyll production in leaves, and that β‐carotene and its derived xanthophylls are likely subject to differential catalysis mechanisms in vegetative tissues and grains. Carotenoid and gene expression analyses also suggest that the very low LCYe‐B expression in endosperm is adequate for lutein production in the absence of LCYe‐A. These results demonstrate the success of provitamin A biofortification using TILLING mutants while also providing a roadmap for guiding a gene editing‐based approach in hexaploid wheat.
The potent relation between lycopene intake and reduced incidence of a variety of cancers has an increasing interest. This comprehensive review aims to highlight the in vivo and in vitro research ...evaluating the anticancer mechanisms of lycopene by underlining the experiment conditions. In addition to these, the general characterization of lycopene has been explained.
A collection of relevant scientific pharmacological articles from the following databases PubMed/MedLine, Web of Science, Scopus, TRIP database, and Google Scholar on the mechanisms of anticancer molecular action and cellular effects of lycopene in various types of tumors was performed. The anticancer potential of lycopene has been described by various in vitro cells, animal studies, and some clinical trials. It has been revealed that the anticancer potential of lycopene is mainly due to its powerful singlet-oxygen quencher characteristics, simulation of detoxifying/antioxidant enzymes production, initiation of apoptosis, inhibition of cell proliferation and cell cycle progression as well as modulations of gap junctional communication, the growth factors, and signal transduction pathways. It has been highlighted that the anticancer properties of lycopene are primarily linked to factors including; dose, presence of drug delivery systems, type of cancer, tumor size, and treatment time.
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•Lycopene is a fat-soluble red-colored carotenoid with many pharmacological properties.•This review describes the latest data on molecular characterization, anticancer and antitumor molecular mechanisms.•The anticancer activity of lycopene is due to changing many pathways that trigger cell growth or cell death.•Lycopene inhibitis cell proliferation, cell cycle progression and induction of apoptosis
SCOPE: Tangerine tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) are rich in tetra‐cis‐lycopene resulting from natural variation in carotenoid isomerase. Our objective was to compare the bioavailability of lycopene ...from tangerine to red tomato juice, and elucidate physical deposition forms of these isomers in tomatoes by light and electron microscopy. METHODS AND RESULTS: Following a randomized cross‐over design, subjects (n = 11, 6 M/5 F) consumed two meals delivering 10 mg lycopene from tangerine (94% cis) or red tomato juice (10% cis). Blood was sampled over 12 h and triglyceride‐rich lipoprotein fractions of plasma were isolated and analyzed using HPLC‐DAD‐MS/MS. Lycopene was crystalline in red tomato chromoplasts and globular in tangerine tomatoes. With tangerine tomato juice we observed a marked 8.5‐fold increase in lycopene bioavailability compared to red tomato juice (p < 0.001). Fractional absorption was 47.70 ± 8.81% from tangerine and 4.98 ± 1.92% from red tomato juices. Large heterogeneity was observed among subjects. CONCLUSION: Lycopene is markedly more bioavailable from tangerine than from red tomato juice, consistent with a predominance of cis‐lycopene isomers and presence in chromoplasts in a lipid dissolved globular state. These results justify using tangerine tomatoes as a lycopene source in studies examining the potential health benefits of lycopene‐rich foods.
The health-promoting dietary antioxidant lycopene has limited natural bioavailability, but lycopene-rich functional foods can improve its bioavailability. We assessed a new lycopene-enriched ice ...cream for systemic antioxidant effects and influence on morphological characteristics of facial skin surface in healthy volunteers. In a randomized crossover study, we used 4-wk dietary interventions with either control or lycopene-enriched ice cream. Samples of serum and residual skin surface components (RSSC) from facial skin were taken before interventions, at 2 wk, and at intervention end. Lycopene concentration, conventional blood biochemistry, and oxidative stress biomarkers comprising inflammatory oxidative damage and low-density lipoprotein peroxidase proteins were assessed in the serum. Lycopene-associated immunofluorescence, lipid droplet size, corneocyte desquamation, and microbial presence were measured in the RSSC. The results show that lycopene concentrations in the serum and skin steadily increased during lycopene-enriched ice cream consumption. Whereas we found no intervention-dependent changes in conventional biochemical parameters, both inflammatory oxidative damage and low-density lipoprotein peroxidase protein values significantly decreased by the end of intervention with lycopene-enriched ice cream, but remained unchanged during control ice cream consumption. Control ice cream significantly increased corneocyte desquamation and bacterial presence in the RSSC. These adverse effects, which could potentially predispose consumers to acne development, were absent when volunteers consumed lycopene-enriched ice cream. We concluded that lycopene-enriched ice cream is a new functional food with clear antioxidant properties. In addition, enrichment with lycopene may alleviate proinflammatory action of ice cream at the level of facial skin, thus decreasing diet-associated acne development risk in young consumers.
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