A few days ago, the Chinese Nutrition Society issued the "Notice on Collection of Technical Information on Raw Materials of Lycopene and Other Health Foods".

The notice shows that the Chinese Nutrition Society is entrusted by the Special Food Safety Supervision and Management Department of the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration to carry out the work of "Lycopene and other health food raw materials included in the health food record catalog". They are now seeking technical data related to standards and product testing of health food raw materials such as lycopene, phytosterol and inulin from the public, and will organize discussion and finally form a work report. The deadline for collecting information is July 15, 2022.

Lycopene is widely found in tomatoes, tomato products, watermelon, grapefruit and other fruits. It is the main pigment in ripe tomatoes and one of the common carotenoids.

In 1989, MASCIO found that lycopene had the highest quenching activity against singlet oxygen among all carotenoids. Subsequently, the research on the function of lycopene has become a hot spot, the research content involves the absorption and metabolism of lycopene, lycopene reduces the risk of prostate cancer and other tumors and cardiovascular diseases, and the extraction, measurement methods and other aspects of lycopene

At present, lycopene has not only been widely used as a natural pigment, but also has been increasingly used in functional foods, medicines and cosmetics.

Phytosterols, also known as phytosterols, belong to phytosteroid compounds. They are a functional component that exists in a free state or in a state combined with fatty acids and sugars. It is widely found in the cell membranes of various plants such as vegetables and fruits.

Phytosterols are an active ingredient in plants that have many benefits for human health. Research has found that phytosterol can lower blood cholesterol, prevent prostate hypertrophy, inhibit tumors, inhibit breast hyperplasia, and regulate immunity.。

Inulin is a reserve polysaccharide in plants, mainly derived from plants, and more than 36,000 species have been found, including 11 families of dicotyledonous plants such as Compositae, platycodon, Gentiaceae, and monocotyledonous plants such as liliaceae and Gramineae.

Inulin is another energy storage form of plants besides starch. It is an ideal functional food ingredient and a good raw material for the production of fructooligosaccharides, polyfructose, high fructose syrup, crystalline fructose and other products.