How much lycopene should you take a day?

There's no official recommended daily amount for lycopene — it isn't classified as an essential nutrient, so no RDA or upper limit has been set the way it has for a vitamin or mineral. Human trials that used a standardized lycopene dose, rather than tomato juice or paste, have generally tested amounts between about 10 mg and 25 mg a day.

Why there's no official number

Bodies like the Institute of Medicine set Dietary Reference Intakes for nutrients the body requires to function — magnesium, vitamin C, iron and so on. Lycopene isn't one of those; nothing goes wrong physiologically if you get none of it, which is why no agency has published an RDA or a tolerable upper intake level specific to lycopene. That's different from provitamin-A carotenoids like beta-carotene, which have their own intake guidance tied to vitamin A; lycopene's molecular structure means it doesn't convert to vitamin A, so it doesn't fall under that guidance either.

What doses trials have actually used

A 2005 randomized trial gave healthy adults about 10 mg of lycopene a day for 12 weeks, from either a synthetic source or a tomato extract, while measuring skin's response to UV light. A 1997 pharmacokinetic study used a single 23 mg dose of lycopene, given alongside 15 g of corn oil, to measure how much reached the bloodstream from tomato paste versus fresh tomato. Between those two studies, the range that shows up in dose-matched human research is roughly 10-25 mg. Doses used in broader nutrition and metabolism research go higher, but many of those studies involve specific health conditions and outcomes best covered separately — see lycopene benefits: what the research does and doesn't show.

How much is in food, for comparison

Approximate figures from USDA FoodData Central: raw tomato runs about 3 mg of lycopene per 100 g, tomato paste concentrates that to roughly 30 mg per 100 g, and watermelon comes in around 4-5 mg per 100 g. A cup of tomato juice or a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste stirred into a meal can put you in the same range as the doses tested above, without a capsule.

Checking what's actually on a supplement label

A label that says "Lycopene 500 mg" is almost always describing a tomato extract or multi-ingredient blend's total weight, not 500 mg of isolated lycopene — a dose that far exceeds anything tested in the research above. Look for the milligram amount listed specifically next to "Lycopene" on the Supplement Facts panel, and check whether it's described as a percentage of a standardized extract (for example, "200 mg tomato extract, standardized to 10% lycopene" works out to 20 mg of actual lycopene). See how to choose a lycopene supplement for the rest of that checklist.

A safety reference point, not a target

The European Food Safety Authority set an acceptable daily intake for lycopene of 0.5 mg per kilogram of body weight a day — about 35 mg for a 70 kg adult — based on a safety margin applied to animal toxicology data, as part of its review of lycopene as a food additive. That's a regulatory ceiling from a food-safety assessment, not a recommended or effective dose; it exists to describe an upper boundary, not a target to reach.

Questions people ask

How much lycopene should I take a day?

There's no established number to give. If you're using a supplement, follow the label directions; the amounts tested in dose-matched human research run roughly 10-25 mg a day.

How much lycopene is too much?

The European Food Safety Authority's acceptable daily intake works out to about 35 mg a day for a 70 kg adult, from all sources combined, food included. See lycopene side effects for what's been reported at much higher, sustained intakes.

How much lycopene is in a tomato?

Roughly 3 mg per 100 g raw, by USDA figures — a medium tomato (about 120 g) works out to around 3-4 mg.

How much lycopene is in tomato paste?

About 30 mg per 100 g, roughly ten times the concentration of a raw tomato by weight, since paste removes water and concentrates the fruit.

How much lycopene is in watermelon?

Around 4-5 mg per 100 g, similar to or slightly higher than raw tomato.

Can I take 500 mg of lycopene a day?

That figure is almost always a blend or extract weight, not 500 mg of actual lycopene — see "checking what's actually on a supplement label" above. A true 500 mg dose of isolated lycopene would be far above anything tested in research and well past the EFSA safety reference point.

Is the dose different for men and women?

No sex-specific reference intake exists, since lycopene isn't classified as an essential nutrient in the first place. Most of the research interest in lycopene and men's health is about outcomes, not dosing, and is covered separately in lycopene benefits.