Anti-Inflammatory Property of Lycopene, Vitamin E and their Combination – In Vitro Study

Abstract

Background: Lycopene is a non provitamin A carotenoid primarily found in tomatoes, papaya, pink grapefruits, and other foods. Lycopene on its own effectively reduces inflammation by inhibiting the release of Tumor Necrosis Factor - α and other inflammatory cytokines. Vitamin E is a group of eight fat soluble compounds that include four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Vitamin E is shown to inhibit COX-2, C reactive protein, serum levels of Interleukin-6 involved in inflammatory reactions. The present study was conducted to compare the anti-inflammatory properties of Lycopene, Vitamin E and their combination.
Materials and Methods: Albumin Denaturation Assay and Egg Albumin Denaturation Assay was used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of five concentrations of Lycopene, Vitamin E and their combination (10μl, 20μl, 30μl, 40μl and 50μl). The statistical analysis performed using the SPSS. Lycopene, Vitamin E and their combination were compared against one another by Repeated measures ANOVA and post hoc test using Tukey test for multiple independent groups.
Results: Anti-inflammatory activity of Lycopene and Vitamin E combination was as effective as individual compounds; in few instances better than individual compounds. The anti inflammatory activity had a dose dependent effect; the anti-inflammatory action of all the compounds increased while increasing the concentration. The results were statistically significant (P value <0.05).
Conclusion: From the above results, it can be concluded that the combination of herbal extracts has better anti-inflammatory properties. Lycopene and Vitamin E used alone or in combination with other drugs, can be formulated in topical forms and used for the chemoprevention of oral inflammatory lesions.