Phytochemical Lycopene Anti-Oxidative stress and Anti-Inflammation Against the Complications Type 2 Diabetes in Vivo

By Kyle J. Norton

Oxidative stress is a condition caused by the imbalanced ratio of the levels of antioxidant enzymes produced by the host and free radical in the body.

Antioxidants are stable atoms that inhibit oxidation.

Oxidative stress over time has been found to induce damage of protein, lipid, and cell DNA associated with the incidences of chronic disease, including heart disease, diabetes, and cancers.

Free radicals are unstable atoms with an unpaired electron in the outermost ring. Therefore, in order for them to become stable, free radicals are ready to steal or donate an electron from or to other atoms, leading to a chain of reaction that can only be stopped if all electrons are paired.

Believe it or not, free radicals generated from cell metabolism or from the environment in a moderate amount play a critical role in the synthesis of energy and boosting the immune system.

 Oxidative stress can be preventable if antioxidants in the body can pair all electrons in the outer ring of free radicals.

Inflammation is a natural response of the immune systematics reaction that protects the body against invasive foreign microorganisms.

In the acute phase of infection,  the white blood cells of the first line of defense not only stimulates the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines to fend of foreign invaders.

During the acute phase of infection, depending on the individual immune system capacity, overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines may cause damage to nearby healthy cells, leading to the formation of scars in some people.

Most cases of infection are stopped at the acute phase of infection. The wound is slowly healed within a few days or weeks.

 Diabetes is a medical and chronic condition caused by insufficient insulin entering the bloodstream to regulate the glucose. 

Most cases of diabetes are either caused by cells in pancreas dying off or receptor sites clogged up by fat and cholesterol.

Diabetes complications are a group of diseases associated with long-term uncontrol hyperglycemia.

Lycopene is a phytochemical in the class of carotenoid, a natural pigment with no vitamin A activity found abundantly in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables, such as red carrots, watermelons, and papayas,

Tomatoes provide about 80% of the lycopene in the world diet. In plants, lycopene protects the host against excessive photodamage and perform various functions in photosynthesis.

With an aim to find a potential compound for the prevention of diabetic complications, researchers examined the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects of lycopene on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) animal model.

The study consisted of rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes randomly divided into four groups, receiving a 10-week lycopene intervention, including DM, DM + low dose of lycopene (L), DM + medium dose of lycopene (M), and DM + high dose of lycopene (H) group with 0, 5, 10, and 15 mg/kg BW lycopene, respectively.

According to the results from the tested assays,
* Oxidative stress and inflammatory factors were elevated in DM rats.

* Lycopene intervention decreased the fasted blood glucose (FBG) level, in DM rats compared with the untreated control.

* Lycopene at a dose-dependent decreased the serum oxidative stress biomarkers in DM rats.

* Levels of proteins associated with Inflammatory factors in DM rats were also decreased by lycopene intervention.

* Furthermore, lycopene administration also promoted the expression of total antioxidative capacity in DM rats including CAT, SOD, and GPx against the overexpression of free radicals

The findings strongly suggested that lycopene protects against diabetic progression and prevents further complications of diabetic rats through a number of aforementioned mechanisms.

Based on the results researchers said, " lycopene intakes at experimental dosages appear to have beneficial effects on ameliorating oxidative stress and inflammation in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats, suggesting that lycopene might help to improve T2DM progression when its daily intake is up to about 0.79 mg/kg BW in humans, which approximately equals to 5 mg/kg BW in rats".

In other words, lycopene inhibits the diabetes complication involved in overexpression of oxidative stress and inflammation in type 2 diabetes.

Taken altogether, lycopene found in tomato may be considered supplements for the prevention of complications associated with oxidative stress and inflammation in type 2 diabetics, pending on the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of lycopene in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Lycopene Ameliorated Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Type 2 Diabetic Rats by Zheng Z1, Yin Y1, Lu R1, Jiang Z. (PubMed)