Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Pharmacy, cilt.33, sa.2, ss.163-178, 2013 (Scopus)
Lycopene, a carotenoid compound widely present in tomatoes, processed tomato products and other fruits, plays an important role in human diet. It has been shown that lycopene could act as an antioxidant and protect cellular macromolecules against oxidative stress. Dietary in-take of food containing lycopene has been estimated to contribute to the inhibition of the diseases believed to be initiated by reactive oxygen species including atherosclerosis, cataract, age-related macular degeneration, multiple sclerosis, and cancer. The present study was carried out to investigate the modulating effects of lycopene against the oxidative DNA damage induced by H2O2 and the DNA damage was evaluated by single cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay). Formamidopyrimidine-DNA-glycoslase (Fpg) enzyme was used to examine the levels of oxidized purine bases induced by H2O2 in human lymphocytes. The antioxidant capacity of lycopene was also analyzed by trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay. At all concentrations studied above 10 mM lycopene alone seemed to induce DNA damage. However at the concentrations of 0.5-12 mM lycopene significantly reduced DNA single strand breakages induced by 0.05 mM H2O2 in human lymphocytes. At the concentrations above 10mM lycopene alone seemed to induce Fpg sensitive sites indicating the increased oxidized purine base levels. In conclusion, it seems that lycopene exerts both oxidant and antioxidant properties in human lymphocytes in vitro. In appropriate levels as a dietary supplement, lycopene can be used as a natural antioxidant but our results concern only in vitro experiments with human lymphocytes. Additional animal and human studies should be performed in order to clarify the mutagenic/antimuta-genic potential of lycopene.