UK research discovers lycopene in tomato guards against harmful radiation effects

Lycopene, the red pigment in tomatoes, is good not only in preventing cancer but also protecting against the harmful effects of radiation. Doctors use radiation therapy to treat a wide range of tumours, however, its effectiveness is constrained by radiation’s side effects.

The University of Manchester’s Dalton Cumbrian Facility conducted the study on lycopene, one of the plant pigments found in many vegetables and fruits. The tomato’s carotenoid was found to be effective in protecting against radiation’s harmful effects.

The research, led by Dr Ruth Edge from the university, notes that dietary intervention could be useful in defending people from radiation’s effects. One effective way of adding lycopene to the diet is plenty of tomatoes cooked in oil which helps the body to absorb the carotenoids, reports Medicalnewstoday.

Edge, experimental officer and laboratory manager at Dalton Cumbrian Facility, elaborates that while lycopene could protect human cells efficiently against gamma radiation, it happens at low, not high oxygen concentrations. “We hope that this effect may allow for improvements in radiation cancer therapy if oxygen concentration can be increased in solid tumours compared to the healthy surrounding tissue,” she writes in the study published in FEBS Letters.

She adds that the facility would conduct future studies which would examine if other dietary carotenoids and mixtures also have an oxygen effect and try to boost any protection range observed with oxygen concentration.