Bile
acid micelles mixed with lycopene isomers were found to have
higher incorporation levels of cis isomers (Boileau et al., 1999).
In the same study, lycopene was also fed to ferrets and it was
found that significantly higher levels of cis-lycopene isomers
were present in lymph secretions than in stomach or intestinal
contents, indicating that cis isomers were more bioavailable
than all-trans isomers (Boileau et al., 1999). High plasma lycopene
content results found in a trial using human subjects fed
saucemade fromtangerine tomatoes that have high levels (97%)
of cis isomers add additional support to the hypothesis that
cis lycopene isomers are more bioavailable than all-trans isomers