Does lycopene help with cholesterol? What the research does and doesn't show

The lycopene-and-cholesterol evidence points two ways. An older meta-analysis found tomato and lycopene supplementation lowered LDL cholesterol by a measurable amount; the two largest, most recent pooled analyses — 43 studies and then 34 trials — found no significant difference in total cholesterol, LDL, HDL or triglycerides between lycopene and control groups.

What the evidence doesn't support

It doesn't support lycopene supplements as a dependable way to lower LDL or total cholesterol: the two largest, most recent meta-analyses, pooling 43 and 34 studies respectively, both found no significant difference between lycopene and control for any of the standard lipid markers. It doesn't support a specific dose, either — trials tested lycopene anywhere from about 1.4 to 75 mg a day, in forms ranging from tomato juice to synthetic capsules, and the researchers who pooled them flagged that variation as a likely reason the field's results conflict.

What the trials found

A 2017 meta-analysis pooled 21 randomized trials of tomato and lycopene supplementation against a range of cardiovascular markers. It found a significant reduction in LDL cholesterol (about 0.22 mmol/L) with tomato-product supplementation, along with a drop in one inflammatory marker (IL-6) and an improvement in a blood-vessel function measure. No other outcome the authors tracked, including HDL cholesterol and triglycerides, changed significantly.

A larger 2020 meta-analysis pooled 43 studies of dietary and supplemental lycopene, using doses that ranged from 1.44 to 75 mg a day across trials — with dose not even reported in a quarter of them. It found no significant difference between lycopene and control groups for total cholesterol, LDL, HDL or triglycerides, including in people who started with elevated levels. The authors described the field's findings as conflicting and pointed to the wide variation in dose and delivery form as a likely cause.

The most recent and largest analysis, from 2023, pooled 34 randomized trials testing lycopene and tomato products against cholesterol alongside blood pressure, blood sugar, body weight and inflammation markers. None of those measures, including cholesterol, changed significantly across the pooled trials.

Study	Design	Population / dose	Finding
2017 meta-analysis	21 RCTs	Mixed adults, varied dose	LDL and IL-6 reduced; other markers unchanged
2020 meta-analysis	43 studies	1.44–75 mg/day, varied form	No significant change in total cholesterol, LDL, HDL or triglycerides
2023 meta-analysis	34 RCTs	Mixed adults, varied dose	No significant change in cholesterol or other cardiovascular markers

Questions people ask

Does lycopene lower LDL?

One 2017 meta-analysis of 21 trials found a significant LDL reduction with tomato-product supplementation. The two larger, more recent pooled analyses that followed it — 43 studies and then 34 trials — found no significant LDL difference between lycopene and control groups. The newer, larger body of evidence doesn't back a reliable LDL effect.

Is lycopene good for cholesterol?

The research is split, and the split runs by study size and recency: the smaller, older meta-analysis found a benefit; the two largest, newest ones found none. Given the disagreement, and the wide range of doses tested, nothing here supports treating lycopene as a dependable cholesterol intervention.

When to talk to a doctor

Anyone with elevated cholesterol, or on a prescribed lipid-lowering plan, should keep working with their doctor rather than relying on a supplement label. Lycopene is not a substitute for that care, and the conflicting evidence above doesn't support using it as one.

Related reading: lycopene and blood pressure, reviewed, lycopene: what the research does and doesn't show, and what is lycopene.