Lycopene dietary intervention: a pilot study in patients with heart failure.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Heart failure (HF) is a condition of chronic exacerbations and injury resulting from an intricate relationship between biochemical and biological mechanisms. Inflammation can be a significant contributor in the pathophysiology of HF. Antioxidants may slow the progression of HF because of their ability to inhibit damaging inflammatory processes. The purpose of this study was to test a dietary intervention in patients with HF to assess the impact of lycopene on biomarkers of inflammation.

SUBJECTS/METHODS: Forty participants with HF were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups: lycopene intervention and usual care. The lycopene intervention group received 29.4 mg of lycopene intake per day by drinking an 11.5 oz serving of V8 100% vegetable juice for 30 days. We obtained serum lycopene, uric acid, C-reactive protein (CRP), and b-type natriuretic peptide to determine the impact of the intervention.

RESULTS

Plasma lycopene levels increased in the intervention group compared with the usual care group (0.51 μmol/L to 0.76 μmol/L, P = .002; 0.56 μmol/L to 0.58 μmol/L). C-reactive protein levels decreased significantly in the intervention group in women and but not in men (P = .04). The preintervention CRP level for women was 5.9 ± 3.7 mg/dL and for men was 2.2 ± 2.1 mg/dL. The postintervention CRP level for women was 4.5 ± 3.6 mg/dL and for men was 2.4 ± 2.1 mg/dL.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that the antioxidants in a 30-day intervention of V8 juice affect CRP levels in a sample of female patients with HF.