The six-month clinical trial is taking place in Australia and is expected to be completed later this year.
It will assess the use of Bio-gen Extracts' patented lutein and zeaxanthin ingredient Lute-Gen on the visuocognitive impacts of the teenage population.
The parameters that the trial will assess include memory, executive function, and processing speed time.
Speaking to NutraIngredients-Asia, Salman Mehkri, head of business development at Bio-gen Extracts, pointed out that the use of lutein and zeaxanthin for supporting the eye-brain axis among the teenagers can be considered a “blue-ocean” market.
This is because the blend is traditionally targeted for use among the adult and senior population, due to findings showing its benefits for age-related macular degeneration.
“It’s a blue sea market when it comes to teenagers. There are a lot of studies on children, a lot of studies on adults and the ageing population, but not enough on teenagers.
“And that’s a very challenging and different demographic to tackle, because they are still growing and so we wanted to assess what would happen with supplementation.
“Visual function, maintenance and improvement will happen, as well as on the cognitive side, and then link what happens between the eye and the brain…”
The six-month trial will assess the impact of daily supplementation of 10mg of lutein and two mg of zeaxanthin on macular pigment optical density (MPOD) and cognitive performance in 80 teenagers.
At the same time, he said that the company hoped to champion the link between the eye and the brain, or the eye-brain axis.
“Everyone talks about the gut-brain axis. We want to talk about the eye-brain axis and make that mainstream too.
“This is because poor visual health is also correlated with cognitive decline, and there are several studies associated with this, and so we want to champion that,“ he said.
Aside from the eye-brain axis, the company is also interested to study the benefits of Lute-Gen on cellular ageing and skin health.
For instance, it may be studying the combined effects of Lute-Gen with other actives, such as ergothioneine or other carotenoids like astaxanthin on cell mitochondrial support.
As for its skin research, it is studying how lutein, zeaxanthin and other carotenoids can support skin health.
Recently, it also published findings on how six months supplementation of 10mg of lutein and two mg of zeaxanthin has improved dry eyes and visual health among people who use electronic devices more than six hours daily.
Its other study from Taiwan also reported how the supplementation of a lutein-zeaxanthin combination, alongside DHA and EPA, has shown to increase tear secretion and reduce inflammation in dry-eye syndrome.
Increased interest in gummies
On the other hand, the company has also noticed an increase interest in demand for lutein and zeaxanthin in various delivery formats - especially in the gummy format for teenagers and younger adults.
Salman said that the lutein and zeaxanthin blend was typically formulated as part of a multivitamin, and not as a standalone ingredient.
“We’ve been supplying lutein and zeaxanthin for the gummy market for over three years now, and this is our fourth year now. At some point, the volume has surpassed the conventional pill formats as well,” he said.
To meet the demand for more dosage formats, the company will be launching an orally dissolvable powder of Lute-Gen in the next four to five months, he said.
As lutein and zeaxanthin are not water-soluble, the company has been developing ways to improve its bioavailability, with findings of a bioavailability study pending release.
Popular combination: With omega-3
At the same time, the company observes that the use of lutein, zeaxanthin, and omega-3 as a synergistic formulation has become a popular option among product formulators.
“This is because omega-3 is an essential nutrient for brain development, and I think brands also are looking at more of an holistic approach in helping out their consumers, rather than an isolated approach.
“Especially over the last six months or so, we’ve been talking about Lute-Gen with omega-3 in chewable tablets for children. We’ve been talking about lutein and omega-3 gummies for children, and even lutein and omega-3 for prenatal and postpartum support as well,” he said.
Other popular combinations include combining lutein, zeaxanthin with vitamin D3 for dry eyes, or other botanicals like bilberry, maqui berry extracts, as well as other carotenoids like beta-carotene, lycopene, astaxanthin.
This is depending on whether the formulator wants to design products specifically for supporting eye health or for general health as well.
