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Lycopene

Lycopene is an antioxidant (Carotenoid). Lycopene is gives the yellow, orange, or red color to vegetables and fruits. Lycopene is found in testes, adrenal glands, liver, prostates, breast, colon, and blood serum of human body. Lycopene is also known as Rhodopurpurin.

Food Sources

The best source for Lycopene is red ripe tomatoes. The other foods with red pigment are watermelon, pink grapefruit, guava, papaya. Some examples follow:

Apricot Fresh 6oz: .007 mg

Apricots dries 6oz: .091 mg

Pink Grapefruit fresh 6 oz: 4.7 mg

Pink Guava fresh 6 oz:7.56 mg

Red Papaya fresh 6 oz: 2.8 to 7.42 mg

Red Tomatoes fresh 6oz: 11.21 mg

Tomato Paste: 1 oz: 9.02 mg

Watermelon fresh 6oz: 5.74 mg

It should be noted that Lycopene in cooked tomatoes is four times more bio-available than the un-cooked  tomatoes. To illustrate this point, I have included the tomato paste.

Health Benefits

Reduce the risk of cancers: prostates, lung, colon, and breast

Help lower Cholesterol (LDL)

May help with age related macular degeneration.

Studies have shown Lycopene does reduce growth of prostate cancer cells