Overview
- Researchers at Tufts found that mice fed phytoene developed substantially less metabolic steatotic fatty liver than mice on the same high‑refined‑carbohydrate diet without the compound.
- Laboratory analyses showed phytoene boosted proteins that promote hepatic fat oxidation, suggesting the compound helps the liver burn excess fat rather than letting it accumulate.
- Mice genetically lacking the enzymes that process carotenoids accumulated high phytoene levels but did not gain protection, which points to smaller metabolites as the likely active agents.
- The study used a phytoene dose chosen to approximate a person eating about three to four medium tomatoes or roughly 100 grams of tomato paste per day.
- Authors stress the results are preclinical and note sex differences and genetic variability in metabolism, so the next steps are identifying the active metabolites and running human studies before making dietary or clinical recommendations.