番茄红素的安全性评价及对小鼠免疫功能的影响

Safety Evaluation and Immunoregulatory Effect in Mice of Lycopene

目的:研究番茄红素的食品安全性及对小鼠免疫功能的影响。方法:进行大鼠30 d喂养实验,小鼠急性毒性实验,测定小鼠细胞免疫功能、体液免疫功能、单核-巨噬细胞功能及NK细胞活性。结果:雌、雄小鼠的番茄红素急性经口毒性>2 666.64 mg/kg,属实际无毒级;番茄红素200、433.33、666.67 mg/(kg?d)剂量(以体质量计,下同)在30 d喂养实验中没有对大鼠的血液常规和血清生化指标产生影响,且Ames实验、小鼠骨髓细胞微核实验、小鼠精子畸形实验结果呈阴性;以33.33、66.67、200 mg/(kg?d)3个剂量进行小鼠免疫功能实验,200 mg/(kg?d)剂量组的鸡红细胞吞噬指数、自然杀伤(natural killer,NK)细胞活性高于阴性对照组,且差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论:番茄红素食品安全性良好,高剂量番茄红素作为食品添加剂在小型啮齿类动物实验中具有增强免疫力的功能。

Objective: To evaluate the safety of lycopene as a food supplement in mice and its effect on immune functions. Methods: A 30-day feeing test was carried out on rats, and mice were employed for acute toxicity test and measured for cellular and humoral immune functions, mononuclear macrophage phagocytosis and natural killer(NK) cell viability. Lycopene at three doses namely 33.33, 66.67 and 200 mg/(kg·d) was administered per os to the mice for up to 30 days. Results: In the acute oral toxicity test, the maximal tolerance dose(MTD) of lycopene for both male and female mice was higher than 2 666.64 mg/kg suggesting that it is actually non-toxic. During the 30-day feeding period, no effects of lycopene at the 200、433.33、666.67 mg/(kg·d) doses were observed on haematological or blood biochemical indexes, and Ames, marrow cell micronucleus and sperm abnormality tests showed negative results. The macrophage phagocytosis index of chicken erythrocytes and NK cell viability in the high-dose group were higher than those in the negative control group with statistical significance(P < 0.05). Conclusions: Lycopene is safe as a food supplement. High-dose lycopene supplementation can boost immunity in mice.