Benefits
Builds macular pigment density
In placebo-controlled trials in young adults, this carotenoid mix raised macular pigment optical density at every dose tested within 12 weeks, kept it higher over 12 months, and raised it in children taking a 12 mg gummy. Macular pigment is the yellow filter in the center of the retina; it is a measured marker, not vision itself.
Better glare tolerance and faster recovery from bright light
In a 12-month trial of 59 young adults, both 12 mg and 24 mg a day improved disability glare thresholds and photostress recovery time versus a 10-person placebo group at 6 and 12 months. A 6-month trial in heavy screen users also found better glare, photostress recovery and contrast sensitivity scores.
Less eye strain and eye fatigue with heavy screen use
In a 6-month trial of 48 young adults who used screens at least 6 hours a day, 24 mg a day reduced eye strain, eye fatigue and headache frequency compared with placebo. Blurry vision and neck strain did not change. The study was small, with 13 people on placebo, and was funded by the maker.
Supports memory, attention and processing speed
In a 6-month trial of 59 healthy young adults, 13 or 27 mg a day improved composite memory, verbal memory, sustained attention, psychomotor speed and processing speed, which stayed unchanged on placebo, and raised blood BDNF. A children's gummy trial reported similar gains in focus and memory. Both trials were small.
Supports sleep quality and lower perceived stress
Heavy screen users taking 24 mg a day for 6 months reported better sleep quality than those on placebo. In 59 young adults, 13 or 27 mg a day lowered perceived stress and blood cortisol versus placebo at 6 months, and the gains held at 12 months. Sleep hormones were not measured.
Raised blood antioxidant capacity
In a 6-month trial, serum antioxidant capacity rose and the inflammatory marker IL-1beta fell versus placebo at 13 and 27 mg a day. Trials of plain lutein show mixed results: two found higher antioxidant capacity or lower malondialdehyde, while a third in 175 healthy men found no change in any oxidative stress marker.
Visual and cognitive scores in children aged 5 to 12
In a 180-day trial, 60 children were randomized 2:1 to a gummy with 10 mg lutein and 2 mg zeaxanthins or placebo. Macular pigment rose from day 42, eye strain and fatigue fell, and focus, memory, attention and visual processing scores improved. About 20 children took placebo, and the maker funded the study.
Mechanism of action
Macular pigment in the center of the retina
Lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin collect in the center of the retina, where together they form macular pigment. Its density can be measured with flicker photometry, and in these trials it rose with supplementation, with the very center of the pigment profile rising most at higher doses.
Filtering blue light
Macular pigment absorbs short-wavelength blue light before it reaches the light-sensing cells. The trial authors suggest that this optical filtering, together with antioxidant effects, may underlie the glare and photostress results.
Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in the blood
In the 6-month trial, rising blood levels of the carotenoids tracked closely with rising serum antioxidant capacity, and IL-1beta fell. The authors suggest these whole-body antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects explain many of the changes they saw, including in BDNF and cognitive scores.
Link with BDNF
BDNF is a growth factor that supports nerve cell connections. In the 6-month trial, changes in blood BDNF were related to changes in IL-1beta, macular pigment and memory scores. These are correlations within one small trial and do not prove cause and effect.
Clinical trials
Double-blind, placebo-controlled 12-week trial of 7.44, 13.13 or 27.03 mg a day of a lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin mix (83%, 10%, 7%) versus safflower oil placebo (Stringham et al. 2016, Exp Eye Res).
28 healthy adults aged 18 to 25: placebo 5, 7.44 mg 7, 13.13 mg 8 and 27.03 mg 8.
Blood lutein and zeaxanthin rose at every dose within two weeks (p<0.001), and macular pigment optical density rose in all three dose groups versus placebo (p<0.001). The 13.13 mg dose raised macular pigment most efficiently for its blood response. Only blood levels and macular pigment were measured, with a five-person placebo group.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 12-month trial of 10 mg lutein + 2 mg zeaxanthins or 20 mg + 4 mg daily, funded by OmniActive (Stringham et al. 2016, Eye Vis (Lond)).
59 healthy young adults with a mean age of 21.7: 24 on the lower dose, 25 on the higher dose and 10 on placebo.
Macular pigment optical density rose versus placebo in both dose groups at 6 and 12 months (p<0.001), and disability glare thresholds and photostress recovery times improved versus placebo at both visits (p<0.001). Changes in glare thresholds tracked changes in recovery time. Sixteen people were removed from the analysis, mainly for not taking the capsules.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 6-month trial of 24 mg a day of the Lutemax 2020 formulation, funded by OmniActive, which supplied the capsules; one author consults for the sponsor (Stringham et al. 2017, Foods).
48 healthy adults aged 18 to 25 with at least 6 hours of daily near-field screen time: 35 on the supplement and 13 on placebo.
At 6 months, macular pigment, contrast sensitivity, flicker fusion, disability glare, photostress recovery, sleep quality, headache frequency, eye strain and eye fatigue all improved versus placebo (p<0.05). Blurry vision and neck strain did not change in either group. The sleep improvement was not related to the rise in macular pigment.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 6-month trial of 13 or 27 mg a day of lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin (Stringham et al. 2019, Physiol Behav).
59 healthy adults aged 18 to 25 assigned to placebo, 13 mg or 27 mg a day.
Blood BDNF, macular pigment, serum carotenoids and serum antioxidant capacity rose versus placebo in both dose groups, and IL-1beta fell versus placebo (p=0.0036 and p=0.006). Composite memory, verbal memory, sustained attention, psychomotor speed and processing speed improved in the supplement groups and did not change on placebo.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 12-month trial of 13 or 27 mg a day of lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin from the same research group, with the same doses and number of participants as the 6-month cognition paper (Stringham et al. 2018, Nutr Neurosci).
59 healthy young adults assigned to placebo, 13 mg or 27 mg a day.
At 6 months, psychological stress, blood cortisol and measures of emotional and physical health improved versus placebo (P<0.05), and the gains held or grew at 12 months. These were questionnaire and blood measures in a small trial.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of a Lutemax Kids gummy with 10 mg lutein + 2 mg zeaxanthins, made and funded by OmniActive; one author was a consultant for the sponsor (Parekh et al. 2024, Adv Ther).
60 healthy children aged 5 to 12 in India, randomized 2:1 to the gummy or placebo, so about 20 took placebo.
Macular pigment, the primary outcome, rose versus placebo from day 42. Eye strain and fatigue fell and focus, episodic memory and visuospatial working memory improved at days 90 and 180; processing speed, attention, visuospatial processing, serum zeaxanthin and BDNF improved by day 180. No safety concerns were seen.