Objective     To determine the protective role of lycopene in the rats with intestinal ischemiareperfusion injury and investigate the underlying mechanism.  Methods       Forty-eight clean and healthy SD rats were divided into 3 groups (n=16 for each group)

that is

lycopene group

ischemiareperfusion group

and sham-operation group. Lycopene group was gavaged with 10 mg/kg lycopene for 5 consecutive days before model establishment. Ischemia-reperfusion and sham-operation groups were given saline for the same duration. The rat model of intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury were induced by clamping the superior mesenteric artery for 1 h

and then followed by reperfusion for 4 h. The serum activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and diamine oxidase (DAO) and contents of malondialdehyde (MDA)

and the activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and contents of TNF-α and IL-6 in the intestinal tissues were detected. The intestinal morphology was graded by Chiu’s scale.  Results     The lycopene group had significantly lower Chiu’s score in intestinal histopathology than the ischemia-reperfusion group (P0.01)

but the score was still significant different compared with that of sham-operation group (P0.01). The contents and activities of TNF-α

IL-6 and MPO in intestinal tissue

and those of SOD

DAO and MDA in the serum were significantly better in the lycopene group than the ischemia-reperfusion group (P0.01)

though these indicators being obviously different with the sham-operation group (P0.01). Conclusion     Lycopene pretreatment effectively inhibits oxidation stress and inflammation

and relieves the injury after intestinal ischemia reperfusion.