Meat products contain protein, which is important for growth needed by human body, in addition to contain some minerals and vitamins as iodine, iron, zinc, and B12. This high nutritional value of meat products makes them vulnerable to spoilage and difficult to be preserved. Natural preservatives have emerged as alternatives to chemical preservatives. Natural additives have shown potential to provide effective antimicrobial and antioxidant activity while reducing negative health impacts. Incorporating lycopene into meat products has gained much interest among food scientists and in the meat industry. Some past articles concerning the lycopene addition effect on the quality of meat products have been published. Based on the above, the purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the applications of lycopene as a natural colorant and antibacterial in meat products, and to provide a comprehensive summary of the effectiveness and progress of lycopene in the preservation of meat products over the last decade. The information in this review provides ideas for future applications of lycopene in meat preservation as a natural antioxidant, which has great potential to replace traditional artificial preservatives.

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of lycopene administration as a protective agent against necrotic damage of NaF, a fluoride compound found to have high cytotoxic effects in the renal epithelial cell. Material- Method: The renal epithelial cell was cultured in DMEM high glucose medium, containing 10%FBS, 1%L-Glutamine (2mM) and 1% penicillin/streptomycin. With the MTT viability test, the non-toxic dose of lycopene (1 µM) and the IC50 value of NaF at the 24th hour was determined to be 3200 µM. The study groups were divided into four as control, NaF, lycopene and NaF+lycopene (the combination of NaF and lycopene). After the total mRNA obtained from these groups were converted to cDNA, expression levels of the identified necrotic genes were determined by real-time PCR method.While the Ripk1 gene did not change in the group given lycopene at the 24th hour, it was found that it increased 2.6 times in the group that received only fluoride, while it increased 7 times in the group treated with NaF+lycopene. A significant difference was detected between the groups in terms of gene expression pattern. While the Ripk3 gene increased slightly in the 24th hour applied lycopene group, it was observed that only NaF applied group increased 8 times and NaF+lycopene applied group increased in the 9 times.Based on the results obtained from this study, it was seen that activation of necrotic genes is important in explaining the molecular basis of cell death from NaF, which is applied as fluoride source, in revealing the molecular basis of the necrotic pathway. It was found that the decrease in cell viability due to NaF increased with lycopene, but the use of lycopene with fluoride also increased necrotic gene expression.

The consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with a reduced risk of various ailments, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Carotenoids, such as lycopene and beta-carotene, are natural constituents of edible plants and may protect against disease. In this study, the influence of lycopene and beta-carotene on DNA damage caused by catechol-estrogens in vitro is examined. One possible mechanism by which catechol estrogens such as 4- hydroxyestradiol (4-OHE2) and 2- hydroxyestradiol, which cause DNA damage in naked plasmid DNA as well as in cells, contributing to the process of carcinogenesis, is through the generation of reactive oxygen species. It was found that both carotenoids at concentrations ranging from 0.25 to 10 MicroM significantly inhibit strand breakage induced by 4- OHE2/copper sulphate by up to 90%in plasmid DNA with beta-carotene being slightly more effective. No pro-oxidant or cytotoxic effects were observed at the concentrations tested. These carotenoids had a similar, though reduced effect on DNA damage as measured by the comet assay, in Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts. The results obtained show that both lycopene and beta-carotene, most probably and mainly through their potent antioxidant properties, are able to inhibit catecholestrogen-mediated DNA damage.