Two hundred fifty-one women in New Delhi, India, in their first pregnancy were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, lycopene (from a tomato extract), 2 mg twice a day, or placebo, beginning at 16-20 weeks’ gestation and continuing until delivery. The incidence of preeclampsia (8.6% vs. 17.7%; 51.4% reduction; p < 005) and the mean diastolic blood pressure (86.7 vs. 92.2 mm Hg; p = 0.012), were significantly lower in the lycopene group than in the placebo group. The incidence of intrauterine growth retardation (12% vs. 23.7%; p = 0.033) was also significantly lower in the lycopene group.

Comment: This study demonstrated that supplementation with a tomato extract can prevent preeclampsia and intrauterine growth retardation in primigravida women in New Delhi. Whether the same benefits would be seen in people consuming Western diets is not known. In earlier studies, placental and maternal serum concentrations of beta-carotene and lycopene were significantly lower in women with preeclampsia than in healthy pregnant women. Although the function of these antioxidant carotenoids in pregnancy is not clear, preeclampsia is associated with increased oxidative stress, and supplementation with other antioxidants (e.g., vitamins C and E) has been shown to reduce the incidence of preeclampsia in women living in England.

While the results seen in the present study may be due solely to lycopene, there are other compounds in tomato extracts, including phytoene, phytofluene, beta-carotene, and tocopherols. Until further research is done, pregnant women who want to prevent preeclampsia should eat tomato products or take a supplement made from tomatoes, rather than taking synthetic lycopene. The amount of lycopene used in the present study can be obtained by daily ingestion of approximately 1.5 ounces of tomato juice or 1 tablespoonful of tomato sauce.

Sharma JB, et al. Effect of lycopene on pre-eclampsia and intra-uterine growth retardation in primigravidas. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 2003;81:257-262.