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

Bernstein, P S; Johnson, E J; Neuringer, M; Schalch, W; Schierle, J

doi:10.1038/eye.2013.257

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Published: 06 December 2013

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

P S Bernstein¹,
E J Johnson²,
M Neuringer³,
W Schalch⁴ &
…
J Schierle⁴

Eye volume 28, pages 240–242 (2014)Cite this article

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Sir,

A recent article in this journal by Nolan et al¹ provides a review of biochemical processes thought to be involved in the deposition of meso-zeaxanthin (MZ) in the human retina. The main purpose of the review was to bring into question current understanding of the source of retinal MZ and that it is derived solely from lutein (L). The paper evaluates publications on the dietary sources of MZ, L, and zeaxanthin (Z)^{2, 3} and on two supplementation studies with L and Z in non-human primates⁴ and Japanese quail.⁵ These two latter studies concluded that MZ in the retina is derived solely from L. The review challenges this conclusion, but contains critical errors that should be considered, as detailed below.

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Authors and Affiliations

Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Moran Eye Center, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
P S Bernstein
Carotenoids and Nutrition Laboratory, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA
E J Johnson
Ophthalmology and Clinical Nutrition, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
M Neuringer
DSM Nutritional Products, Basel, Switzerland
W Schalch & J Schierle

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P S Bernstein
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E J Johnson
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M Neuringer
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W Schalch
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Correspondence to E J Johnson.

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Bernstein, P., Johnson, E., Neuringer, M. et al. Comment on: What is meso-zeaxanthin, and where does it come from?. Eye 28, 240–242 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/eye.2013.257

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Published: 06 December 2013
Issue date: February 2014
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/eye.2013.257

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Assessment of lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin concentrations in dietary supplements by chiral high-performance liquid chromatography

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Assessment of lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin concentrations in dietary supplements by chiral high-performance liquid chromatography

Response to Bernstein et al

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