Lutein Bioavailability Is Higher from Lutein-Enriched Eggs than from Supplements and Spinach in Men

Abstract

Lutein may be protective against diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). At present, data regarding bioavailability of lutein from various sources are insufficient. Healthy men (n = 10) participated in an intervention study with a crossover design. After a 2-wk washout period during which they consumed a low-carotenoid diet, the men were administered 1 of 4 lutein doses (lutein supplement, lutein ester supplement, spinach, and lutein-enriched egg) for 9 d. All lutein doses provided 6 mg lutein except for the lutein ester dose, which provided 5.5 mg lutein equivalents. Serum samples were collected from fasting subjects on d -14, 1 (baseline), 2, 3, and 10 and analyzed for changes in lutein concentration. Triacylglycerol-rich lipoproteins (TRL) were separated from postprandial blood samples (0-24 h) after the first lutein dose and analyzed for lutein concentration. Subjects completed all 4 treatments of the study in random order. Results from repeated-measures 1-way ANOVA showed that the baseline and dose-adjusted lutein response in serum was significantly higher after egg consumption than after lutein, lutein ester, and spinach consumption on d 10. There was no significant difference in TRL response. In conclusion, the lutein bioavailability from egg is higher than that from other sources such as lutein, lutein ester supplements, and spinach. The lutein bioavailability from lutein, lutein ester supplements, and spinach did not differ. This finding may have implications for dietary recommendations that may decrease the risk of certain diseases, e.g., ARMD.

Effect of lutein and antioxidant dietary supplementation on contrast sensitivity in age-related macular disease: a randomized controlled trial

“…Studies carried out to investigate differences in bioavailability between pure and esterified lutein do not support this hypothesis. One study reported no significant difference in serum lutein response between 6 mg lutein from spinach, 6 mg pure lutein and 10.23 mg lutein esters (Chung et al, 2004). In another study, serum response was greater from lutein esters than pure lutein (Bowen et al, 2002).…”

“…The efficacy of this hydrolysis of lutein esters into lutein occurs with an efficacy that is well below 5% (Breithaupt et al, 2002;Granado et al, 2002). Furthermore, a negative correlation between age and serum lutein levels in individuals consuming lutein esters has been reported that was not found in people supplementing with lutein (Chung et al, 2004). This may suggest that the ability to hydrolyse lutein esters declines with age.…”

Dietary cholesterol, heart disease risk and cognitive dissonance

“…The epigenetic effects of choline availability during prenatal and postnatal development are just beginning to be investigated (51,52) . Eggs also provide highly bioavailable forms of the xanthophylls lutein and zeaxanthin, which are related to lower risks for age-related macular degeneration and cataracts (53)(54)(55)(56) as well as some types of cancer (57)(58)(59) and carotid artery atherosclerosis (60) . Eggs also provide satiety in the diet (61) and can be a valuable addition to a low-energy weight-loss diet (62) .…”

Comment on: What is meso-zeaxanthin, and where does it come from?

“…We are very familiar with this method, as we have used it in several of our recently published studies. [3][4][5][6] In our review article, we point out the limitations of the standard 'two-step method' commonly used by many laboratories to quantify MZ. These limitations include the following: its labour intensive nature due to manual collection; operator dependency and potential for human error; and a very long sample run time, rendering it difficult to perform bulk analysis (eg, for clinical trials).…”

“…This claim is not correct. If saponification was not performed, carotenoid esters still would be detected using the method employed by Rasmussen et al, 3 as indicated by Chung et al 6 The esters elute after the free L and Z and during the period of detection. In the paper by Maoka et al 2 , the significance of the tested foods as dietary sources of MZ cannot be determined because they did not determine the absolute amount of MZ.…”