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CONCLUSION

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     Ripening-induced changes in tomato matrix influenced the amount and bioaccessible
     

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     fraction of carotenoids, especially lycopene, in tomato-based products. Marked
     

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     increases in TCC and LC were observed during tomato ripening, which were maxima
     

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     when fruits were processed at red-ripe stage. These increments were accompanied by an
     

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     improvement of TCB and LB. In addition, the type of processing also influenced the
     

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     concentration of carotenoids before and after the in vitro digestion. Thus, in spite of
     

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     TCC and LC in tomato puree significantly decreased, TCB and LB were greater than in
     

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     tomato cubes. The addition of oil may play a protective role against carotenoids
     

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     degradation in tomato-based products. Moreover, TCB and LB showed a significant
     

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     improvement after the addition of different types of oil, especially when olive oil was
     

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     added, following by sunflower and coconut oil. Differences could be explained by the
     

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     fatty acids composition of the added oils.This study provides useful information about
     

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     the synergic effect of different factors affecting the amount and the bioaccessible
     

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     fraction of carotenoids, especially lycopene, in two common tomato derivatives.
     

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     However, further investigations are needed in order to assess the individual carotenoid
     

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     compounds, as well as their isomers, before and after the simulated digestion, with the
     

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purpose of confirming the hypotheses reported in this work.

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