Lycopene

4 studies · 3 supporting · 1 against

Lycopene is a potent antioxidant carotenoid that quenches reactive oxygen species; less oxidative stress is hypothesized to reduce the signaling that drives some inflammatory cytokines.

Dose: 7–50 mg

Tested as: ranges from 7 mg/day supplement for 2 months, to whole-diet interventions providing roughly 32-50 mg/day (224-350 mg/week) for weeks, in healthy or moderately overweight middle-aged adults and in cardiovascular-disease patients

1 study · 1 supporting · 0 against

As an antioxidant, lycopene is hypothesized to blunt the oxidative-stress and membrane-damage cascade that eccentric/downhill exercise triggers in muscle tissue.

Dose: 11 mg

Tested as: tomato-extract complex providing 11 mg lycopene (plus phytoene and phytofluene) daily for 4 weeks before a 2-hour high-intensity run with downhill sections, in trained runners

Why it gets suggested: As an antioxidant carotenoid, lycopene is hypothesized to help protect retinal tissue from oxidative damage, similar to the mechanism proposed for lutein/zeaxanthin.

Why it gets suggested: Proposed mechanism (unproven for fatigue specifically) is antioxidant support of mitochondrial function.