Lycopene Complex Shown to Reduce Blood Pressure

New Research Shows Lyc-O-Mato Reduces Blood Pressure in Patients with Mild to Moderate Hypertension.

15/02/06 Lycopene producer LycoRed has reported that clinical research conducted at Ben-Gurion University, Israel shows that Lyc-O-Mato tomato lycopene complex, a tomato extract, reduces blood pressure in patients with mild to moderate hypertension. These new findings, presented at the American Society of Hypertension’s 20th Annual Scientific Meeting and Exposition, provide additional evidence that natural tomato extract helps lower blood pressure in hypertensive patients.

In a random double blind, placebo controlled crossover trial, Dr. Esther Paran, M.D., evaluated the effect of tomato extract on blood pressure, endothelial function and plasma lycopene levels in grade I hypertensive patients. A daily intake of tomato extract Lyc-O-Mato in soft gel capsules, produced by LycoRed Ltd., was linked to a significant drop in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure after eight weeks of supplementation of a normal diet.

This new research helps confirm results from two similar studies, including one study in 2001 on natural tomato extract that appeared in the January 2006 issue of The American Heart Journal. Results showed that natural tomato extract helps reduce systolic blood pressure. These results are clinically significant since they are similar to those achieved through the use of prescription drugs.

“The results of this study are particularly important because our subjects had previously been unsuccessful at lowering their blood pressure using one or two drug methods,” Dr. Paran said. “We attribute the reduction in blood pressure to the antioxidant activity of the tomato extract Lyc-O-Mato and the increase in nitric oxide,” Dr. Paran added.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) more than 50 million Americans now suffer from hypertension, a condition that may affect as many as 90 percent of people age 55 or older. High blood pressure also strikes about one in four people age 20 or older.

Upon reviewing the study results, Cathleen London, M.D., a family physician from Boston, MA, commented, “Most hypertension patients require more drugs to achieve their goal blood pressure, which increases the potential for side effects. This research indicates that natural tomato extract is safe and effective as an adjunct therapy.”

“Eating a diet rich in tomato products and other antioxidant-containing fruits and vegetables is certainly a smart move,” said Dr. Paran, “But, a person would need to consume about five tomatoes to get the nutrients in one tomato extract capsule.”

Other recent studies suggest that tomato lycopene complex also provides a considerable level of defense against degenerative diseases, including heart disease. Considering the results of these studies, combined with Lyc-O-Mato’s positive effects on blood pressure, the importance of maintaining an optimal level of natural phytonutrients like lycopene, phytoene, phytofluene and beta-carotene in the human body is evident.