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Title: WATERMELON, TOMATO, AND OTHER LYCOPENE-CONTAINING FRUITS: SOURCES OF HUMAN WELLNESS COMPOUNDS

Author
item Perkins Veazie, Penelope
item Collins, Julie
item Clevidence, Beverly
item Edwards, Alison
item Rimando, Agnes
item ROBERTS, W. - OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: World Wide Web
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/2003
Publication Date: 7/1/2003
Citation: Perkins Veazie, P.M., Collins, J.K., Clevidence, B.A., Edwards, A.J., Rimando, A.M., Roberts, W. 2003. Watermelon, tomato, and other lycopene-containing fruits: Sources of human wellness compounds. Available: http://www.worldnutra.com/.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Lycopene, a highly efficient free radical scavenger, imparts the red color to relatively few fruit, including tomatoes, watermelon, red grapefruit, Brazilian guava, and in non-cultivated crops such as rosehips and Autumn olive. Lycopene in humans is directly related to ingestion, as shown with tomato and watermelon. Lycopene from ingestion of tomato and tomato products prevents and slows prostate cancer, and helps preven tcardiovascular disease. Other compounds exist in these fruit, including b-carotene, vitamin C, B-viatmins, limonoids, and citrulline. Amounts of lycopene vary with the fruit type, and are affected by germplasm, production environment, sotrage, and processing.