Thus, the damage accumulates. For this reason, the consumption of antioxidants in the diet becomes increasingly important as we grow older. But you may not have heard much about lycopene. Both lycopene and beta-carotene are members of a family of plant pigments called carotenoids. There are more than 600 different carotenoids, but lycopene and the carotenes are the most prominent.
Carotenoids are an important part of the photosynthetic complex of plants.
The bright colors in leaves are covered by green chlorophyll. They also are the pigments that give some fruits and vegetables, like tomatoes, their bright colors. In fact, tomato and tomato products are a major source of lycopene in our diet. We also get some lycopene from watermelon, guava, rose hips and pink grapefruit. Lycopene levels are higher than beta-carotene levels in people in the United States.