Effect of Long-Term Xanthophyll and Anthocyanin Supplementation on Lutein and Zeaxanthin Serum Concentrations and Macular Pigment Optical Density in Postmenopausal Women

Abstract

Xanthophylls (lutein, L; zeaxanthin, Z) and anthocyanins are often included in food supplements to improve ocular health. There are no dietary reference intakes for them. The aim was to assess the effects of L, Z and anthocyanin supplementation on short and long-term lutein status markers (serum concentration and macular pigment optical density (MPOD)). Seventy-two postmenopausal women were randomized into a parallel study of 8 months: Group A—anthocyanines (60 mg/day); Group X—xanthophylls (6 mg L + 2 mg Z/day); Group X+A—anthocyanines (60 mg/day) + xanthophylls (6 mg L + 2 mg Z/day). At the beginning of the study, 4 and 8 month serum L and Z concentrations were determined (HPLC), as well as L, Z and anthocyanine dietary intake and MPOD (heterochromic flicker photometry). Baseline concentrations of L (0.35 ± 0.19 μmol/L), Z (0.11 ± 0.05 μmol/L), L+Z/cholesterol/triglycerides (0.07 ± 0.04 μmol/mmol) increased in Group X (2.8- and 1.6-fold in L and Z concentrations) and in group XA (2- and 1.4-fold in L and Z concentrations). MPOD (baseline: 0.32 ± 0.13 du) was not modified in any of the groups at the end of the study. There were no differences in the dietary intake of L+Z and anthocyanin at any point in time in any group. Supplementation of L and Z at a dietary level provoked an increase in their serum concentration that was not modified by simultaneous supplementation with anthocyanins.

Dietary β-Cryptoxanthin and α-Carotene Have Greater Apparent Bioavailability Than β-Carotene in Subjects from Countries with Different Dietary Patterns

“…Dietary intakes (median values) and serum concentrations (mean values) of provitamin A carotenoids in our studies in subjects from Spain and four other European countries (samples analyzed in our lab) are shown in Table 1. Dietary intake was assessed by three 24-h food recalls [28][29][30] or a semiquantitative FFQ [27] and the same [28][29][30] or similar [27] carotenoid food composition databases were used in all four of these studies. Blood samples were obtained at the same time as the dietary assessment.…”

“…These two sources of variability could be considered as negligible in the Spanish study results as all participants were normolipemic and had an adequate retinol status as assessed by retinol serum concentrations (greater than 1.1 µmol/L) [1]. Blood retinol concentrations were ≥1.9 µmol/L [26], >1.4 µmol/L (unpublished data, from subjects in Study 3 [30]) and >1, 1 µmol/L (unpublished data, from studies in Studies 2 and 4 [28,29]). Other potential modifiers of the carotenoid status are weight (subjects were normo-and overweighted in Burrows et al [55], in some of the studies from Burri et al [16] and normoweight [26][27][28][29]) and normoweighted or preobesity [30] in Spanish studies, and diabetes [50] as higher concentrations of provitamin A carotenoids in insulin-dependent diabetics have been reported [34,35].…”

“…We conducted four human studies between 1998 and 2018 involving a total of 633 apparently healthy subjects (348 Spanish subjects: 238 women, 110 men), in two age groups: 20 to 45 and 45 to 70 ( Table 1). The main purpose of those studies was ( Figure 1): (a) to describe dietary intake and blood concentrations of carotenoids and other antioxidant compounds in well-defined groups from five European countries (Study 1) [26,27], (b) to assess dietary and status markers of lutein and zeaxanthin in normolipemic subjects (Studies 2 and 4) [28,29] and to assess the effects of lutein and zeaxanthin and anthocyanin supplementation on lutein status markers (Study 3) [30]. Inclusion criteria for all these studies: serum cholesterol concentration within the normal reference range, no use of drugs or foods to control cholesterol levels, no chronic diseases that could affect the carotenoid metabolism, a varied diet and no use of food supplements (vitamins, minerals, carotenoids).…”

“…Inclusion criteria for all these studies: serum cholesterol concentration within the normal reference range, no use of drugs or foods to control cholesterol levels, no chronic diseases that could affect the carotenoid metabolism, a varied diet and no use of food supplements (vitamins, minerals, carotenoids). Additionally, body mass index (BMI) within the normal reference ranges (studies 1,2,4) [26,28,29] and BMI between 25-33 kg/m 2 and amenorrhea (>2 years) (Study 3) [30], non-smokers and serum retinol >1 mmol/L [26]. Following are the number of volunteers taking part in these studies ( Figure 1).…”

“…The provitamin A serum concentrations and dietary intake from Study 1 were previously published [26,27]. In this study, we analyzed the provitamin A carotenoids in serum samples and evaluated their dietary intake from blood samples and food records obtained from participants in studies 2-4 (study designs published in [29,30]).…”