Department of Psychology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-3013, USA.
Institute of Gerontology, Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, College of Public Health, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
Nutrients. 2017 Nov 14;9(11):1246. doi: 10.3390/nu9111246.
Past studies have suggested that higher lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) levels in serum and in the central nervous system (as quantified by measuring macular pigment optical density, MPOD) are related to improved cognitive function in older adults. Very few studies have addressed the issue of xanthophylls and cognitive function in younger adults, and no controlled trials have been conducted to date to determine whether or not supplementation with L + Z can change cognitive function in this population. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not supplementation with L + Z could improve cognitive function in young (age 18-30), healthy adults. A randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled trial design was used. Fifty-one young, healthy subjects were recruited as part of a larger study on xanthophylls and cognitive function. Subjects were randomized into active supplement ( = 37) and placebo groups ( = 14). MPOD was measured psychophysically using customized heterochromatic flicker photometry. Cognitive function was measured using the CNS Vital Signs testing platform. MPOD and cognitive function were measured every four months for a full year of supplementation. Supplementation increased MPOD significantly over the course of the year, vs. placebo ( < 0.001). Daily supplementation with L + Z and increases in MPOD resulted in significant improvements in spatial memory ( < 0.04), reasoning ability ( < 0.05) and complex attention ( < 0.04), above and beyond improvements due to practice effects. Supplementation with L + Z improves CNS xanthophyll levels and cognitive function in young, healthy adults. Magnitudes of effects are similar to previous work reporting correlations between MPOD and cognition in other populations.
先前的研究表明，血清和中枢神经系统（通过测量黄斑色素光学密度（MPOD）来量化）中较高的叶黄素（L）和玉米黄质（Z）水平与老年人认知功能的提高有关。很少有研究涉及年轻人中叶黄素和认知功能的问题，也没有进行对照试验来确定补充 L+Z 是否可以改变该人群的认知功能。本研究旨在确定补充 L+Z 是否可以改善年轻（18-30 岁）健康成年人的认知功能。采用随机、双盲、安慰剂对照试验设计。作为叶黄素与认知功能更大研究的一部分，招募了 51 名年轻健康的受试者。受试者被随机分为活性补充剂组（n=37）和安慰剂组（n=14）。使用定制的异染色体闪烁光度法通过心理物理学测量 MPOD。使用 CNS Vital Signs 测试平台测量认知功能。在为期一年的补充期间，每四个月测量一次 MPOD 和认知功能。与安慰剂相比，补充剂在一年内显著增加了 MPOD（<0.001）。L+Z 的每日补充和 MPOD 的增加导致空间记忆（<0.04）、推理能力（<0.05）和复杂注意力（<0.04）显著改善，超过了由于练习效果引起的改善。补充 L+Z 可提高年轻健康成年人的中枢神经系统中叶黄素水平和认知功能。效应的幅度与之前报告其他人群中 MPOD 与认知之间相关性的工作相似。
