Lycopene rich food and dark chocolate are among the best-documented products with a broad health benefit. This study explored the systemic effect of lycopene and dark chocolate (DC) on gut microbiota, blood, liver metabolism, skeletal muscle tissue oxygenation and skin. 30 volunteers were recruited for this trial, 15 women and 15 men with a mean age of 55 ± 5.7 years and with moderate obesity, 30 < BMI < 35 kg/m2. They were randomized and divided into five equal interventional groups: three received different formulations of lycopene, one of them with a 7 mg daily dose and two with 30 mg; another group was given 10 g of DC with 7 mg lycopene embedded into its matrix, and the last group received 10 g DC. The trial was double-blinded for the three lycopene groups and separately for the 2 DC groups; the trial lasted for 1 month. By the end of the trial there were dose-dependent changes in the gut microbiota profile in all three lycopene groups with an increase of relative abundance of, e.g., Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Bifidobacterium longum. This was also accompanied by dose-dependent changes in the blood, liver metabolism, skeletal muscle and skin parameters. Consumption of DC resulted in increased relative abundance of, e.g., Lactobacillus and a reduction of corneocyte exfoliation. This is the first study which reports the prebiotic potential of lycopene and DC.

Oxidative stress and antioxidant deficiency play a pivotal role in initiation, development, and outcomes of cardiovascular disease. Pharmacokinetic parameters as well as the impact of highly bioavailable lycopene on cardiovascular variables, markers of inflammation and oxidation were investigated during a 30‐day clinical trial in patients with coronary vascular disease. The patients were randomized into two major groups and were supplemented with a single 7 mg daily dose of lycopene ingested either in the form of lactolycopene (68 patients) or in the form of lycosome‐formulated GA lycopene (74 patients). The endpoints included cardiovascular function parameters, serum lipids, and four markers of oxidative stress and inflammation. Ingestion of lycosome‐formulated lycopene increased serum lycopene levels by 2.9‐ and 4.3‐fold, respectively, after 2 and 4 weeks of the trial, whereas supplementation with lactolycopene upregulated serum lycopene by half‐fold only after 4 weeks of ingestion. Lycosome formulation of lycopene resulted by the end of the trial in a threefold reduction in Chlamydia pneumoniae IgG and reduction to the same degree of the inflammatory oxidative damage marker. The decrease in oxidized LDL caused by lycosome‐formulated lycopene was fivefold. Moreover, supplementation with lycosome‐formulated lycopene was accompanied by a significant increase in tissue oxygenation and flow‐mediated dilation by the end of the observational period. In contrast, lactolycopene did not cause any significant changes in the parameters studied. Therefore, enhanced bioavailability of lycopene promotes its antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory functions and endorses a positive effect of lycopene on cardiovascular system.

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