Lycopene - a disease fighting antioxidant - is the substance responsible for the deep red color in tomatoes.

According to a new study, a special variety of orange-colored tomatoes - called tangerine tomatoes - provide a form of lycopene that can be easily absorbed by the body.

According to Steven Schwartz, the study's lead author and a professor of food science and technology at Ohio State University:

"While red tomatoes contain far more lycopene than orange tomatoes, most of it is in a form that the body doesn't absorb well.

The people in the study actually consumed less lycopene when they ate sauce made from the orange tomatoes, but they absorbed far more lycopene than they would have if it had come from red tomatoes. That's what is so dramatic about it."

[Lycopene belongs to a family of antioxidants called the carotenoids, which give certain fruits and vegetables their distinctive colors. Carotenoids are thought to have a number of health benefits, such as reducing the risk of developing cancer, cardiovascular disease and macular degeneration.]

Study results have recently been published at the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Find more details from the full report.