Abstract:

Objective: To evaluate the safety of lycopene as a food supplement in mice and its effect on immune functions.
Methods: A 30-day feeing test was carried out on rats, and mice were employed for acute toxicity test and measured for
cellular and humoral immune functions, mononuclear macrophage phagocytosis and natural killer (NK) cell viability.
Lycopene at three doses namely 33.33, 66.67 and 200 mg/(kg·d) was administered per os to the mice for up to 30 days.
Results: In the acute oral toxicity test, the maximal tolerance dose (MTD) of lycopene for both male and female mice was
higher than 2 666.64 mg/kg suggesting that it is actually non-toxic. During the 30-day feeding period, no effects of lycopene
at the 200、433.33、666.67 mg/(kg·d) doses were observed on haematological or blood biochemical indexes, and Ames,
marrow cell micronucleus and sperm abnormality tests showed negative results. The macrophage phagocytosis index of
chicken erythrocytes and NK cell viability in the high-dose group were higher than those in the negative control group with
statistical significance (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Lycopene is safe as a food supplement. High-dose lycopene supplementation
can boost immunity in mice.

Key words: lycopene, immune function, food safety