Lycopene (LYC), a carotenoid, is a fat-soluble pigment, mainly found in tomatoes, watermelon, grapefruit and other fruits, is the main pigment in ripe tomatoes. Lycopene has a variety of health benefits, including scavenging free radicals, easing inflammation, regulating glucose and lipid metabolism, and neuroprotective effects.

Recently, Researchers from Shanxi Medical University published a paper in the journal Redox Biology entitled "Lycopene alleviates age-related cognitive deficit via activating liver-brain. Research paper of fibroblast growth factor-21 signalling ".

Studies have shown that supplementing with lycopene for 3 months can delay brain aging in mice and alleviate age-related cognitive damage, and lycopene improves neuronal degeneration, mitochondrial dysfunction, synaptic damage, and promotes synaptic vesicle fusion in aging mice.

In addition, lycopene activated liver-brain axis FGF21 signaling in aging mice, thereby promoting the release of neurotransmitters by increasing mitochondrial ATP levels and enhancing synaptic vesicular fusion. This suggests that FGF21 may be a therapeutic target in nutritional intervention strategies to delay brain aging and improve age-related cognitive impairment.

In aging, brain aging, mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the most important factors, the researchers found that lycopene supplementation can improve mitochondrial morphological damage, and reverse the level of mitochondrial electron transport chain complex caused by aging, promote the production of ATP, indicating that lycopene has a protective effect on mitochondrial function.

Finally, the researchers also conducted in vitro experiments and found that lycopene enhanced the ability of liver cells to support neurons, including improving cell aging, enhancing mitochondrial function, and increasing neuron axon length.

Taken together, the results suggest that lycopene supplementation can delay brain aging and prevent age-related cognitive impairment in mice, in part because lycopene activates hepato-brain axis FGF21 signaling, suggesting that FGF21 may be a potential therapeutic target in nutritional interventions to ameliorate cognitive impairment caused by aging and age-related neurodegenerative diseases.