Could lycopene—a plant extract—be an effective antidepressant?

Medical Xpress / Wiley / Food Science & Nutrition ^ | Feb. 5, 2025 | Heyan Xu et al

[ConservativeMind]

Emerging evidence suggests that lycopene—a natural plant extract—may have antidepressant properties. New research reveals the mechanisms behind its antidepressant effects.

In mice with depressive-like behaviors, brain analyses revealed impairments in the hippocampus. Lycopene treatment lessened these impairments and reversed the animals' depressive-like traits.

Lycopene treatment boosted the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein with roles in many aspects of brain function. Experiments indicated that a signaling pathway involving BDNF (called the BDNF-TrkB pathway, which helps regulate learning, memory, and communication between neurons) is inhibited in mice with depression, and that lycopene treatment alleviates this inhibition.

The study "offers an effective avenue for the development of novel antidepressant therapies," the authors wrote.

[ConservativeMind]

Lycopene is available in tomatoes, sauce, and paste, along with supplements.

[ConservativeMind]

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[Flaming Conservative]

Are Italians less depressed than the rest of us?

[decal]

I’m always happy eating spaghetti and pizza...

[MeanWestTexan]

Well, I’ve never been depressed eating salsa.

[hardspunned]

Try Dr. Trump’s Old #47 Happy Post Medicine. Dispensed for free on FR.
“good for what ails ya”

[ponygirl]

I’m not familiar with lycopene, but lycopodium (club moss) is a common homeopathic remedy with many uses, one being for anxiety.

[tet68]

This explains why I was so happy in Kindergarden...
Library Paste !!

[irishjuggler]

“Are Italians less depressed than the rest of us?”

Probably. The suicide rate in Italy is approx. HALF the worldwide average.

Italy ranks 151st of 183 countries in suicides per capita.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate

US is #31

[Flaming Conservative]

OK! Eat more tomatoes! (or ketchup)

[Getready]

Mangiare!

[Getready]

I guess that’s why my field mice are always destroying my tomato plants!

[sauropod]

Bkmk

[TTFX]

watermelon

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

A tablespoon a day taken with some olive oil!

Lycopene bioavailability

Lycopene bioavailability from a single dose of fresh tomatoes or tomato paste (23 mg lycopene) ingested together with 15 g corn oil was compared by analyzing carotenoid concentrations in the chylomicron fraction. The lycopene isomer pattern was the same in both fresh tomatoes and tomato paste. The triacylglycerol response in chylomicrons was not significantly different after both treatments. Ingestion of tomato paste was found to yield 2.5-fold higher total and all-trans-lycopene peak concentrations (P < 0.05 and P < 0.005, respectively) and 3.8-fold higher area under the curve (AUC) responses (P < 0.001) than ingestion of fresh tomatoes. The same was calculated for lycopene cis-isomers, but only the AUC response for the cis-isomers was significantly higher after ingestion of tomato paste (P < 0.005). No difference was observed in the alpha- and beta-carotene response. Thus, in humans, the bioavailability of lycopene is greater from tomato paste than from fresh tomatoes.