Lycopene shows potential as a natural antidepressant

Emerging evidence suggests that lycopene-a natural plant extract-may have antidepressant properties. New research in Food Science & Nutrition reveals the mechanisms behind its antidepressant effects.

In mice with depressive-like behaviors, brain analyses revealed impairments in the hippocampus. Lycopene treatment lessened these impairments and reversed the animals' depressive-like traits.

Lycopene treatment boosted the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein with roles in many aspects of brain function. Experiments indicated that a signaling pathway involving BDNF (called the BDNF-TrkB pathway, which helps regulate learning, memory, and communication between neurons) is inhibited in mice with depression, and that lycopene treatment alleviates this inhibition.

The study "offers an effective avenue for the development of novel antidepressant therapies," the authors wrote. "We plan to conduct further verification in future studies and include multiple brain regions in our research."