Improvement of cognitive function by supplemented with tomato paste in a mouse model.

, a traditional Korean hot sauce, was prepared with a variety of antioxidant-rich supplements to improve its bioactive functions and preference by pungency-sensitive people. Among the tested ingredients, tomato paste exhibited the strongest antioxidant and neuroprotective activities when added as a supplement to traditional . Furthermore, oral administration of prepared with tomato paste to mice significantly improved cognitive function compared to original . As supplemented with tomato paste was found to contain an appreciable amount of lycopene with neuroprotective activity, it is most likely that the neuroprotective activity and cognitive improvement by the product was partially attributable to -lycopene, a highly bioavailable form converted from -lycopene during the manufacturing process of the product. However, a further study is required to verify the precise underlying mechanism of action.