Fruit of Autumn Olive: A Rich Source of Lycopene

Abstract

Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb.) has edible fruit with brilliant red or yellow pigmentation. An analysis of the pigment in fruit of five cultivars and six naturalized plants showed that the berries contain lycopene, α-cryptoxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, β-carotene, lutein, phytoene, and phytofluene. The lycopene content per 100 g ranged from 15 to 54 mg in fresh fruit from the naturalized plants and from 17 to 48 mg in the four cultivars with red-pigmented fruit. A cultivar with yellow fruit had only 0.47 mg/100 g fresh fruit. In contrast, fresh tomato fruit, the major dietary source of lycopene, has a lycopene content per 100 g of ≈3 mg. This newly identified source of lycopene may provide an alternative to tomato as a dietary source of lycopene and related carotenoids.