Benefits
Natural Zeaxanthin Source for Eye Health
ZeaONE is marigold-sourced zeaxanthin sold to supplement manufacturers. No study has tested the ZeaONE brand. Everything on this page comes from studies of zeaxanthin in general, and in the largest of those it was given together with lutein, not on its own.
Results of the AREDS2 Eye Study
AREDS2 enrolled 4,203 people who already had AMD and added lutein plus zeaxanthin to the existing AREDS supplement. In the main analysis it did not significantly slow progression to advanced AMD (hazard ratio 0.90, P = 0.12), and lutein plus zeaxanthin went on to replace beta-carotene in the formula. It tested the two together, not zeaxanthin alone, and trade reports name DSM's earlier synthetic zeaxanthin, not ZeaONE.
Foveal Macular Pigment
Zeaxanthin is the pigment most concentrated at the very center of the macula. A pooled analysis of 20 randomized trials (938 people with AMD and 826 healthy people) found that lutein and zeaxanthin supplements raise macular pigment optical density. That is a measurement of pigment in the eye, not of eyesight. No ZeaONE product was used in those trials.
Combined with Lutein
Zeaxanthin and lutein both come from marigold flowers and are usually sold together, which is how they were tested in AREDS2. In a 60-person trial in people with AMD that compared them directly, lutein did better than zeaxanthin for low-contrast visual acuity and glare recovery.
Mechanism of action
Macular Pigment Role
Zeaxanthin builds up in the macula, where it absorbs blue light and acts as an antioxidant. This is the proposed explanation for why it is studied for eye health. It is a rationale, not evidence of a benefit, and it has never been tested with the ZeaONE brand.
Natural RR-Zeaxanthin Form
Zeaxanthin from marigolds is the RR form, the same form found in the human retina. No trial has compared this form against other forms for any vision outcome, so the practical advantage is unproven.
Foveal Concentration
Zeaxanthin is most concentrated in the fovea, the very center of the macula used for sharp vision.
Clinical trials
AREDS2 was a large randomized trial that added lutein (10 mg) plus zeaxanthin (2 mg) to the existing AREDS supplement. It did not test ZeaONE, and it did not test zeaxanthin by itself. (Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 Research Group 2013, JAMA)
4,203 people who already had age-related macular degeneration and were at risk of it getting worse.
In the main analysis, adding lutein plus zeaxanthin did not significantly reduce progression to advanced AMD (hazard ratio 0.90, 98.7% confidence interval 0.76 to 1.07, P = 0.12). The authors concluded that it did not further reduce risk. The trial's practical finding was that lutein plus zeaxanthin could replace beta-carotene in the formula.
One-year randomized trial comparing 8 mg zeaxanthin, 8 mg zeaxanthin plus 9 mg lutein, or 9 mg lutein a day. (Richer et al. 2011, Optometry)
60 people with mild to moderate AMD (57 men, 3 women; mean age 74.9).
Macular pigment rose in all three groups with no difference between groups. In the zeaxanthin group, high-contrast visual acuity improved by about 1.5 lines, while the lutein-only group did better for low-contrast acuity, contrast sensitivity and glare recovery. Small, almost all-male sample, and not conducted with the ZeaONE brand.