Bioavailability of lycopene from tomato

A bioassay study was conducted to examine the bioavailability of lycopene in serum of the adult albino rats fed control diet and experimental diets containing four and five per cent MUFA, PUFA and Saturated Fat along with lycopene.The study was carried out for a period of twenty eight days and bioavailability of lycopene was assessed by HPLC method. The results revealed that the control group had no lycopene levels in blood serum while the experimental group V fed with 5 per cent MUFA had the highest lycopene level (0.74 n mol/L) followed by 5 per cent PUFA (0.72 n mol/L), 4 per cent MUFA (0.71 n mol/L), 4 per cent PUFA (0.70 n mol/L) and 4 per cent saturated fat (0.69 n mol/L) and least in 5 per cent saturated fat (0.65 n mol/L). However from the histopathological findings and the lipid profile results it was concluded that 4 per cent of the lipids which is the ideal requirement for the rats would be sufficient for lycopene absorption with no adverse effects on the body organs.