The type and quantity of lipids present during digestion influence the in vitro bioaccessibility of lycopene from raw tomato pulp

This study elucidates the impact of the type and quantity of lipids, added upon digestion of raw tomato pulp, on the bioaccessibility of lycopene. Lycopene bioaccessibility was studied by measuring the micellarization during in vitro digestion. Coconut oil, palm oil, cocoa butter, olive oil, sunflower oil and fish oil were selected because of their distinctly different fatty acid composition. Upon adding 5% of lipid to raw tomato pulp, all tested lipids significantly improved the lycopene bioaccessibility. The largest increase in lycopene bioaccessibility was noticed after supplying 5% of sunflower oil, followed by olive oil and cocoa butter (not all differences were significant). A slightly smaller increase was observed when fish oil, coconut oil and palm oil were used. In addition, the effect of different quantities (0–10%) of coconut oil, olive oil and fish oil was examined. Over the entire concentration range, increasing the amount of coconut oil increased the lycopene bioaccessibility, while the highest bioaccessibility was found using 1 and 2% of respectively fish oil and olive oil. Moreover, depending on the amount of added lipid, the type of lipid resulting in the highest lycopene bioaccessibility differed. The results obtained clearly indicate that lycopene bioaccessibility depends both on the type and on the quantity of the lipid present during in vitro digestion of raw tomato pulp.