Dose dependent effects of lycopene enriched tomato-wine on liver and adipose tissue in high-fat diet fed rats

The functional effects of tomato-wine with varying lycopene content on high-fat diet (HFD) fed rats are unknown. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 50) were randomly divided into five groups and fed a HFD (35% kcal fat) with ethanol (7.2% kcal alcohol), tomato-wine with varying lycopene content (0.425, 1.140 or 2.045 mg% lycopene) or an isocaloric control diet for 6 weeks. Morphological, toxicological and metabolic analysis was conducted in liver, adipose, plasma and faeces. Body weight gain, adipose and liver weight was reduced in HFD fed rats administered tomato-wine with varying lycopene content, although tomato-wine with higher lycopene was more effective. The anti-obesity effect of tomato wine appears to be partially mediated through the inhibition of fatty acid synthesis and lipid droplet formation. Furthermore, tomato-wine appears to have an anti-atherogenic effect via augmentation of plasma HDL-C levels. The present findings suggest tomato-wine fortified with lycopene may be an effective anti-obesity agent. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.