LYCOPENE

Safety

No unhealthy effects have been reported for lycopene (12).

There are studies showing that a daily intake of up to 120 mg of lycopene per day is safe (13, 26).

As the safety of lycopene supplements in pregnancy and lactation has not been established, pregnant and breastfeeding women should obtain lycopene from foods rather than supplements. There is no reason to limit the consumption of carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables during pregnancy (14).

Tolerable upper intake levels

Presently, no tolerable upper intake level (UL) has been set for lycopene.

Lycopenodermia

High intakes of lycopene-rich foods or supplements may result in a deep orange discoloration of the skin known as lycopenodermia. Because lycopene is more intensely colored than the carotenes, lycopenodermia may occur at lower doses than carotenodermia (15).

Drug interactions

There are no well-known drug interactions with lycopene.

Authored by Dr Peter Engel in 2010, reviewed and revised by  Jonas Wittwer Schegg on 06.10.2017.