title: Anti-inflammatory effect of lycopene on carrageenan-induced paw oedema and hepatic ischaemia-reperfusion in the rat.
abstract: The regular intake of tomatoes or its products has been associated with a reduced risk of chronic diseases and these effects have been mainly attributed to lycopene. Here, we evaluated the anti-inflammatory properties of lycopene and its protective effects on organ injury in two experimental models of inflammation. In order to study the effects of lycopene in local inflammation, a carrageenan-induced paw oedema model in rats was performed. Lycopene was administered as an acute (1, 10, 25 or 50 mg/kg, intraperitoneally, 15 min before carrageenan injection) and chronic treatment (25 or 50 mg/kg per d, 14 d). Inflammation was assessed by the measurement of paw volume increase after 6 h. Lycopene significantly inhibited paw oedema formation at two doses (25 and 50 mg/kg) in both acute and repeated administration. The effect of lycopene on liver inflammation was evaluated in a liver ischaemia-reperfusion (I/R) model. Rats were subjected to 45 min of ischaemia of three-quarters of the liver followed by 2 h of reperfusion. In this model, lycopene was administered daily at two doses (25 and 50 mg/kg) during the 14 d that preceded the experiments. Repeated administration of lycopene reduced liver injury induced by I/R, as demonstrated by the reduction of the increase in liver injury markers (aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase and gamma-glutamyl transferase) and attenuation of liver tissue lipoperoxidation was evidenced by a decrease in malondialdehyde production. The present results show that lycopene exhibited local anti-inflammatory activity and also attenuated liver injury induced by I/R. We speculate that lycopene administration might be useful in the pharmacological modulation of inflammatory events.
authors.affiliation: Departamentos de Farmacologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Letícia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bignotto
authors.forename: João
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sepodes
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eduardo-Figueira
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chaud
authors.forename: João
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
authors.forename: Heitor
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: Helder
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mota-Filipe
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002351:Carrageenan; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004487:Edema / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006614:Hindlimb; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D008099:Liver / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D000077276:Lycopene; D008297:Male; D023421:Models, Animal; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D015415:Biomarkers; D002338:Carotenoids; D002351:Carrageenan; D000077276:Lycopene