Lutein supplements and eye diseases: what studies show
What it found
In people, lutein supplements have shown mixed results for eye diseases like age-related macular degeneration, with some studies finding a lower risk and others finding no link.
In animals and lab tests, lutein reduced oxidative stress and protected retinal cells.
What they found
Studies in people
Safety and side effects
The AREDS2 trial gave 10 mg of lutein daily for 5 years to over 4000 patients with age-related macular degeneration and reported no adverse health effects except minor skin yellowing. One case study reported bilateral foveal sparkle in a woman who consumed 20 mg of lutein supplement daily plus high dietary lutein for 8 years.
AMD: mixed clinical results
Some studies found that higher lutein intake or blood levels were linked to lower risk of age-related macular degeneration, while other large follow-up studies found no protective effect against early AMD. The authors say inconsistent findings may be due to differences in absorption, small numbers of cases, or self-reporting inaccuracies.
Diabetic retinopathy: clinical studies
A retrospective study in type 2 diabetic patients found that lutein and zeaxanthin supplementation improved retinal thickness and function. Higher lutein plasma levels or macular pigment optical density were linked to lower risk of diabetic retinopathy development or progression.
ROP: clinical studies
A few studies found that lutein may improve retinopathy of prematurity outcomes, with lower incidence and less progression to severe stages in treated infants compared with controls. However, the authors note that the number of studies is limited and the findings were not statistically significant.
Myopia: observational findings
A cross-sectional study found about 40% reduced odds of myopia among subjects with the highest 20% of lutein concentration in plasma. Another study showed that oral lutein supplementation significantly increased macular pigment optical density by 20% in myopic Japanese subjects.
Animal and lab studies
AMD: animal and lab studies
In mice, lutein supplementation delayed or reversed structural changes similar to AMD and reduced VEGF expression. In lab tests on retinal pigment epithelial cells, lutein reversed damage caused by hydrogen peroxide in a concentration-dependent manner.
Diabetic retinopathy: animal studies
In diabetic mice and rats, lutein supplementation reduced oxidative stress, improved visual function, lowered inflammatory mediators, and alleviated morphological damage in the retina. Doses used in animals were much higher than those in clinical trials.
ROP: animal studies
In mouse oxygen-induced retinopathy models, lutein promoted normal retinal revascularization during the hypoxic stage. The study could not show that lutein reduced retinal vasculature loss in the initial hyperoxic phase.
Other findings
Cataract: limited evidence
The paper mentions that lutein is found in the human lens and may protect against age-related eye diseases such as cataract, but no specific clinical trial results on lutein supplementation and cataract are described in the provided text.
What the authors conclude
- They state that the association between lutein and AMD risk reduction is generally accepted due to lutein's anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties.
- They note that lutein's long-term protective effects and optimal doses for treating different stages of AMD remain to be investigated.
- They recommend that pregnant women should ensure sufficient intake of lutein from normal diet rather than consuming high amounts of lutein supplements.
How it was done
Lutein is found in high concentration in the macula of the human retina and must be obtained from diet. Many basic and clinical studies have reported lutein's anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties in the eye, suggesting beneficial effects on eye diseases.
The authors reviewed basic and clinical studies on lutein's chemical structure, safety, and effects on age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, myopia, and cataract. They examined clinical trials, animal studies, and lab experiments.
What it can’t tell you
- Many findings come from animal or lab studies, which cannot show what happens in people.
- Some clinical studies were small or had inconsistent results, so the evidence for lutein's effects on eye diseases is not definitive.
- Observational studies can show links but cannot prove that lutein causes the observed outcomes.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Health and Medical Research Fund, the Food and Health Bureau, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Boston Children's Hospital OFD/BTREC/CTREC Faculty Career Development Grant; Boston Children's Hospital Ophthalmology Foundation; Boston Children's Hospital Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research; Little Giraffe Foundation (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- The University of Hong Kong, China; Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, USA; Boston Children's Hospital, USA
The paper
- Title
- Lutein Supplementation for Eye Diseases
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Li LH, Lee JC, Leung HH, Lam WC, Fu Z, Lo ACY (2020). Lutein Supplementation for Eye Diseases. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu12061721Free full textPubMed 32526861DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error