A ONE-YEAR STUDY OF THE MACULAR PIGMENT - THE EFFECT OF 140 DAYS OF ALUTEIN SUPPLEMENT

A low density of macular pigment may represent a risk factor for age-r elated macular degeneration (AMD) by permitting greater blue light dam age. This study was carried out to determine the effects on macular pi gment optical density of dietary supplementation with lutein, one of t he pigment constituents. Two subjects consumed lutein esters, equivale nt to 30 mg of free lutein per day, for a period of 140 days. Macular pigment optical density was determined by heterochromatic flicker phot ometry before, during, and after the supplementation period. Serum lut ein concentration was also obtained through the analysis of blood samp les by high-performance liquid chromatography. Twenty to 40 days after the subjects commenced taking the lutein supplement, their macular pi gment optical density began to increase uniformly at an average rate o f 1.13 +/- 0.12 milliabsorbance units/day. During this same period, th e serum concentration of lutein increased roughly tenfold, approaching a steady state plateau, The optical density curve eventually levelled off 40 to 50 days after the subjects discontinued the supplement, Dur ing the same 40 to 50 days, the serum concentration returned to baseli ne. Thereafter, little or no decrease in optical density was observed. The mean increases in the macular pigment optical density were 39% an d 21% in the eyes of the two subjects respectively. In conclusion, the modest period of supplementation has been estimated to have produced in the subjects a 30 to 40% reduction in blue light reaching the photo receptors, Bruch's membrane, and the retinal pigment epithelium, the v ulnerable tissues affected by AMD. (C) 1997 Academic Press Limited.