Effect of an antioxidant supplement containing high dose lutein and zeaxanthin on macular pigment and skin carotenoid levels

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 20mg/day of lutein, 4mg/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 degrees 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 25kg/m(2) (n=13) compared to those of 25kg/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.