Effect of an antioxidant supplement containing high dose lutein and zeaxanthin on macular pigment and skin carotenoid levels
Akira Obana, Yuko Gohto, Risa Nakazawa, Takanobu Moriyama, Werner Gellermann, Paul S. Bernstein
Abstract
Abstract The effect of a high dose lutein/zeaxanthin supplement on macular pigment optical density (MPOD) and skin carotenoid (SC) levels in healthy subjects was investigated. This is a prospective, single-arm, open-label study. Subjects were 16 Japanese, age 26–57 years. Subjects took a supplement containing 20 mg/day of lutein, 4 mg/day of zeaxanthin, and other antioxidants (vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, copper) for 16 weeks. MPOD levels were measured by a two-wavelength autofluorescence imaging technique. SC levels were measured by reflection spectroscopy. Total volume of MPOD within 9° eccentricity significantly increased by week 8 and continued to increase until week 16 ( p < 0.0001, two-way factorial ANOVA). The increase rate of MPOD was significantly higher in subjects with body mass index (BMI) less than 25 kg/m 2 (n = 13) compared to those of 25 kg/m 2 and higher (n = 3). SC levels increased significantly by week 4 and continued to increase until week 16 ( p < 0.0001, two-way factorial ANOVA). All subjects completed the study without any serious adverse events. These results demonstrated the effectiveness of a high dose lutein/zeaxanthin supplement for MPOD volume and SC levels without serious adverse events.