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The carotenes story
24 October 2007
Do lycopene and other carotenes have a role in cancer prevention?
Nutriscene: By DR TEE E SIONG
THERE was a recent story on the health benefits of tomato, linking it to reducing cancer risk (The Star, July 29, 2007).
The functional ingredient in tomato believed to be responsible for this health benefit is lycopene (pronounced as lai-ko-pin). It reminded me of an article I read some years ago encouraging eating more pizza (and hence more tomato) to reduce risk to cancer.
I recalled writing in to the papers to say that one need not be eating more pizza to consume more lycopene as our local fruits such as papaya contain large amounts of this carotene. Indeed, it may be unwise to be recommending eating more pizza at all!
Let’s talk about this exciting group of pigments called carotenoids, which includes lycopene. This was the subject of my research project some years ago. Carotenoids continue to fascinate me as research continues to unravel the potential health benefits of these pigments, so abundant in our local fruits and vegetables.
Carotenoids in nature
Carotenoids, believed to have derived their name from the fact that they constitute the major pigment in the carrot root, Daucus carota, are found throughout the plant kingdom, although their presence is often masked by chlorophyll. It is less known that they are also found in insects, birds and other animals.
These pigments provide a whole range of light yellow to dark red colourings. Thus, a wide variety of foods, for example, yellow vegetables, tomatoes, papaya, oranges, egg yolk, chicken, butter, palm oil, shrimp, lobster, salmon and yellow corn owe their colour principally to carotenoids.
For further reading, kindly visit The Star Online
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