Evaluation of the effect of lycopene on lipid profile, serum antioxidant enzymes and blood sugar level in New Zealand white rabbits

Background: Dyslipidaemias are the major cause of increased atherogenesis. Lycopene is a pigment that imparts red colour to fruits and vegetables like tomatoes. Risk of cardiovascular diseases has been shown to decrease with dietary intake of tomatoes. Although the antioxidant and hypolipidaemic properties of tomatoes have been studied extensively, beneficial effect of pure lycopene supplement as hypolipidaemic is still debatable So, we aimed to evaluate the effect of pure lycopene powder on lipid profile, serum antioxidant enzymes and blood sugar level in hyperlipidaemic rabbits.Methods: Adult male New Zealand White rabbits (1.5-2.5kg) were divided into three groups of six each. Group I-High Fat Diet (HFD) (5ml/kg). Group II-HFD (5ml/kg) + lycopene (10mg/kg) orally. Group III-HFD (5ml/kg) + lycopene (20mg/kg) orally. Blood samples were taken from all rabbits for baseline estimations of serum lipids, serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and blood sugar. Same tests were performed after six weeks.Results: There was significant decrease in the levels of serum TC, LDL-C, TG and VLDL and an increase in serum HDL-C and antioxidant SOD with lycopene administration. However, significant increase in HDL was not seen with lycopene 10mg. TG and VLDL levels were significantly less with 20mg lycopene compared to 10mg lycopene. There was however no change in blood sugar level with lycopene.Conclusions: Pure lycopene supplement showed significant hypolipidaemic and antioxidant activity. However, it did not show significant effect on blood glucose levels.