Thermal processing differentially affects lycopene and other carotenoids in cis-lycopene containing, tangerine tomatoes

Tangerine tomatoes, unlike red tomatoes, accumulate cis-lycopenes instead of the all-trans isomer. cis-Lycopene is the predominating isomeric form of lycopene found in blood and tissues. Our objective was to understand how thermal processing and lipid concentration affect carotenoid isomerisation and degradation in tangerine tomatoes. We conducted duplicated factorial designed experiments producing tangerine tomato juice and sauce, varying both processing time and lipid concentration. Carotenoids were extracted and analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection. Phytoene, phytofluene, ζ-carotene, neurosporene, tetra-cis-lycopene, all-trans-lycopene and other-cis-lycopenes were quantified. Tetra-cis-lycopene decreased with increasing heating time and reached 80% of the original level in sauce after processing times of 180min. All-trans-lycopene and other-cis-lycopenes increased with longer processing times. Total carotenoids and total lycopene decreased with increased heating times while phytoene and phytofluene were unchanged. These data suggest limiting thermal processing of tangerine tomato products if delivery of tetra-cis-lycopene is desirable.