Lycopene as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in LPS-induced macrophage cells

Oxidative stress can cause inflammation due to excess free radicals that damage cellular lipids, proteins, including DNA and RNA, thereby disrupting cell function and contributing to cell damage, aging, and disease. Many cases of the disease are accommodated with inflammatory processes in the body. Inflammation has high risk of aggravating these chronic diseases. Therefore, natural antioxidant compounds that have anti-inflammatory potential are required. One of the compounds that has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential is lycopene from tomatoes. This research aims to measure the effect of lycopene properties as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, which was evaluated using in vitro assay. Lycopene was analyzed for its ability to scavenge nitric oxide (NO) and anti-inflammatory potential on RAW 264.7 macrophage cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The anti-inflammatory mediators were interleukin-1β (IL-lβ), prostaglandin E-2 (PGE-2), and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels. Lycopene had very strong antioxidant activity to scavenge NO with a median Inhibitory Concentration (IC₅₀) value of 27.95 μg/mL. RAW 264.7 cell viability was high in low concentration, but decreased in high concentration, indicating a concentration-dependent effect based on cytotoxic assay. Lycopene at 4 μg/mL effectively increased the total protein on the inflammatory cell model and was comparable with normal cells. Lycopene proved to inhibit inflammatory mediators as exemplified by TNF-α, PGE-2, and IL-1β in LPS-activated RAW 264.7 cells. Lycopene also appeared to be an antioxidant on NO scavenging activity and antiinflammation on RAW 264.7 macrophage cells activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS).