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  Lycopene is a naturally red carotenoid that can be produced by some plants and microorganisms. It is not provitamin A, but it has 11 conjugated double bounds with high antioxidant activity. The antioxidant activity of lycopene has been extensively evaluated based on its ability to scavenge free radicals. Lycopene is a major carotenoids found in human serum and by virtue of its ability to interact with free radicals can preserve the important cell biomolecules such as DNA, proteins and lipids and it plays a significant role in the prevention of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular, prostate, osteoporosis and gastrointestinal. Tomato and tomato products are the most important sources of lycopene and the increasing consumption of lycopene diets is benefit to human health. Because of high demand for natural carotenoids, the production of kinds of carotenoids from microbial sources has been focused by many researchers. Lycopene has been found in several microorganisms. The production of lycopene could been enhanced by using kinds of media cultures, metabolic stimulators and inhibitors, mutagenic materials, environmental and cultural factors and genetic engineering. This review summarized the information about structure and characteristics of lycopene and it^,s role in human health and introduce the some microbial resources of it.

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Watermelon juice was concentrated by heating at three different temperature-pressure matches (at atmospheric, 38.5 and 7.3 kPa) and 100, 75 and 40°c. The effect of operational pressure-temperature on evaporation rate, pH, viscosity, density and lycopene content of watermelon juice versus time of concentration was evaluated. The result was shown that the higher vacuum degree lead to higher evaporation rate and better preservation of lycopene content as well. The pH of samples didn't change during heating concentration. It was shown there is a linear correlation between density and concentration degree of samples. Also viscosity of samples is independent of operational pressure and it is only depend on concentration degree.

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In most cancers, the expression level of heat shock proteins is increased, which makes cancer cells resistant to drug therapy and has a poor prognosis. They have also been linked to cell proliferation, invasion and metastasis. Lycopene, as a carotenoid, is an effective antioxidant used to prevent the growth of cancerous glands. Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers seen in men. To treat this disease, surgery and chemotherapy are mostly used, which have many complications after treatment and are costly. In this study, prostate cancer was treated with lycopene and raw microarray big data were received from GEO section of NCBI database. Then, the expression changes of heat shock proteins (hsp27) were determined using bioinformatics tools and methods, and comparing the expression levels of lycopene-treated genes with non-treated ones showed that the expression level of HSPB8 gene was drastically reduced and also, no significant changes were observed in the expression level of other gene families in this group. Results show that lycopene can cause stress in cancer cells and this stress predisposes the cell to apoptosis.
 

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Evaluating fertilizer quality is important in selecting the appropriate fertilizers for agricultural production. In this experiment, the effectiveness of Composite Inorganic Fertilizer (CIF), Composite Organic Fertilizer (COF) and Foliar Spray of Multi-Nutrients (FSMN) on the growth, yield, and fruit quality of cherry tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were compared. The results showed that the applications of fertilizers enhanced the leaf area, photosynthesis rate, fruit setting rate, and average fruit weight, and yield. The fruit setting rate and average yield in COF treatment increased by, respectively, 25.16% and 81.91% when compared to the control (without fertilization). Also, the contents of reducing saccharide, vitamin C, and lycopene in tomato fruit improved, especially in the COF treatment, in which the contents of saccharide, vitamin C, and lycopene were higher than the control by 40.84%, 28.74% and 13.97%. Treatment CIF had similar effects on growth and yield when compared to COF, but the influence of CIF on the fruit quality was lower than that of COF. Meanwhile, treatment CIF also had the highest contents of nitrate and nitrite in the fruit (2.32 and 1.42 mg kg^-1, respectively). In this study, FSMN was ineffective when used separately.

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In the present study, to optimize the lycopene and phenolic compounds extraction from tomato paste, pulsed electric field in different intensities including 2, 4, 6 KW. Cm^-1 and different pulse numbers including 10, 30, 60 were designed and applied. Therefore the extraction efficiency of lycopene and phenolic compounds, DPPH free radical scavenging activity as well as ferric reducing activity of the extracted oil were predicted. The statistical analysis and optimization process with the use of response surface methodology were performed. The achieved results presented that with enhancements in pulsed electric field intensity, at the beginning parameters including the efficiency of lycopene extraction and phenolic compounds extraction, DPPH free radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing power increased and then showed reductions. With enhancements in pulse number, at the beginning lycopene extraction slightly decreased then showed enhancements, but the phenolic compounds extraction rate as well as DPPH free radical scavenging activity increased slightly. The achieved results of optimization process expressed that to obtain extracts with high quantities of lycopene and phenolic compounds, pulsed electric field and pulse number should be set on 3.7 KW. Cm^-1 and 6 respectively to achieve the desirability value equals to 0.915. Finally the achieved results of the comparison of control sample with the treated ones expressed that,  treated sample with pulsed electric field presented higher quantities for the extracted lycopene and phenolic compounds, DPPH free radical scavenging activity as well as reducing power (111.4, 45.64, 146.28 and 73.43) compared to the standard samples.

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In this study, fifteen commercial varieties, nine exotic genotypes, and three wild species of tomato grown in Eastern India were analyzed for variations in different phytochemicals viz. ascorbic acid, lycopene, total carotenoids, total phenolics content and total antioxidant capacity. Selected genotypes showed significant differences with respect to phytochemical composition. Among antioxidant property parameter, ascorbic acid content ranged between 12.62 to 76.15 mg 100 g^-1 of Fresh Weight (FW), whereas, the total phenolic content and total antioxidant capacity varied from 41.10 to 139.59 mg GAE 100 g^-1 of FW and 1.16 to 4.52 µmol Trolex Equivalent (TE) g^-1 of FW, respectively. Among carotenoid parameters, lycopene and total carotenoids content in whole tomato fruit ranged between 0.47 to 5.48 and 1.14 to 5.79 mg 100 g^-1 of FW, respectively. Interestingly, it was found that, among the evaluated genotypes, Exotic Collection (EC lines) showed significant enriched amount of these phytochemicals. Results indicated that the maximum ascorbic acid (76.15 mg 100 g^-1 FW), total phenolics content (139.59 mg GAE 100 g^-1 of FW), and total antioxidant capacity (4.52 µmol TE g^-1 of FW) was highest in exotic collection EC 528372, while, lycopene (5.48 mg 100 g^-1 of FW) and total carotenoids content (5.79 mg 100 g^-1 of FW) were recorded highest in cultivar Rio Grande. Thus, this group of screened genotypes consisting of phytochemical rich wild species and exotic collection can be further used for improvement of functional quality of tomato in future breeding programs of India and the Indo Gangetic region.

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In this study, two transport methods for tomato (room temperature and refrigerated transport) as well as post-harvest packaging treatments (thin polyethylene packaging bags, thick polyethylene packaging bags, use of 1%calcium chloride, use of absorbent paper in the box, and control) were examined at four stages of post-harvest consumer chain transport. These stages included: (1) Farm, after harvesting and putting in boxes, (2) Transport, after transferring products for wholesale and during discharging, (3) Wholesale, after discharging and when selling to local retailers usually 24-36 hours after harvesting time, and (4) Retail stores (2 days after harvesting time at most). The total acid level, vitamin C, and lycopene of the fruit differed across different farms, different transportation conditions, post-harvest treatments, and the four stages of product transport. The total percentage of unacceptable fruits was significant in post-harvest treatments and at different stages of transport. Among post-harvest treatments, packaging with high-density plastic and absorbent paper with 7.94 and 12.16% of weight loss, respectively, claimed the minimum and maximum physiological loss in fruit weight. The minimum post-harvest loss (4.21 percent) was related to high-density plastic packaging.