Tomatoes are rich source of antioxidant compounds, such as lycopene, phenolics and ascorbic acid however consumption of raw tomatoes gives only tiny amounts of lycophene.
Research team used a model of the digestive tract in order to measure the amount of lycopene and other antioxidants released from tomatoes during typical digestive conditions. Data revealed 75% of the total antioxidants were released including 4% of the lycopene found in the raw tomato.