Pharmacokinetics
| Distribution of lycopene | |
|---|---|
| Tissue | nmol/g wet weight |
| Liver | 1.28–5.72 |
| Kidney | 0.15–0.62 |
| Adrenal | 1.9–21.6 |
| Testes | 4.34–21.4 |
| Ovary | 0.25–0.28 |
| Adipose | 0.2–1.3 |
| Lung | 0.22–0.57 |
| Colon | 0.31 |
| Breast | 0.78 |
| Skin | 0.42 |
After ingestion, lycopene is incorporated into lipid micelles in the small intestine. These micelles are formed from dietary fats and bile acids, and help to solubilize the hydrophobic lycopene and allow it to permeate the intestinal mucosal cells by a passive transport mechanism. Little is known about the liver metabolism of lycopene, but like other carotenoids, lycopene is incorporated into chylomicrons and released into the lymphatic system. In blood plasma, lycopene is eventually distributed into the very low and low density lipoprotein fractions. Lycopene is mainly distributed to fatty tissues and organs such as the adrenal glands, liver, prostate and testes.
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