Study Finds Low Zeathanthin and Lutein Levels Linked to Decrease Artery Health

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By Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, July 27, 2006, abstracted from “Low plasma levels of oxygenated carotenoids in patients with coronary artery disease” printed online in Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases

As the process regarded as “a main feature” in causing atherosclerosis,1 inflammation’s role in heart disease is thought to be triggered in part by the oxidation of cholesterol.2 Foods such as almonds have been found to help protect cholesterol against oxidation,3 but the most convincing research for the prevention of heart disease lies in carotenoids, the antioxidants that give fruits and vegetables their color.(4,5)

While the most well-known carotenoids include beta-carotene,6 known to promote heart health,6 and lycopene, found to help maintain healthy cell division,7 recent research has started to highlight the health benefits of zeaxanthin8 and lutein.9 Now a new study10 has found that both zeaxanthin and lutein may also help improve heart health.

In the study, researchers obtained blood samples from 89 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) due to either Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS), a condition characterized by decreased blood flow in heart,11 or Stable Angina (SA), a condition also characterized by decreased blood flow but that elicits chest pain with physical exertion12 and compared them to 50 healthy controls. They proceeded to measure levels of carotnoids that include lutein, zeaxanthin, beta-cryptoxanthin, alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and lycopene.

They found that inflammatory proteins, including C-Reactive Protein and IL-6, were “significantly higher” in the ACS patients compared to controls, while both the ACS and SA groups “had significantly increased proportions” of white blood cells called CD4+ cells. Concerning carotenoids, both the ACS and SA patients had “significantly lower levels” of, lutein, zeaxanthin and beta-cryptoxanthin compared to controls, while levels of beta-carotene were lower in the SA patients than controls. Finally, levels of lutein, zeaxanthin and beta-cryptoxanthin were “significantly correlated” to CAD.

For the researchers, “our main finding was the significantly lower plasma concentrations of carotenoids in patients with CAD” and that their role in CAD may lie in helping strengthen the immune system.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at mailto:ChiroDocPSUalum@msn.com or visiting his website www.CompleteChiropracticHealthcare.com

Reference:
1 G.K. Hansson, Inflammation, atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease, N Engl J Med 352 (2005), pp. 1685–1695

2 N.R. Madamanchi, A. Vendrov and M.S. Runge, Oxidative stress and vascular disease, Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 25 (2005), pp. 29–38

3 Chen CY. Flavonoids from Almond Skins Are Bioavailable and Act Synergistically with Vitamins C and E to Enhance Hamster and Human LDL Resistance to Oxidation. J. Nutr. 2005 135: 1366-1373

4 J.W. Foote et al., Do hydroxy-carotenoids prevent coronary heart disease? A comparison between Belfast and Toulouse, Int J Vitam Nutr Res 66 (1996), pp. 113–118

5 F. Lanas et al., INTERHEART Study Investigators. Effect of potentially modifiable risk factors associated with myocardial infarction in 52 countries (the INTERHEART study): case-control study, Lancet 364 (2004), pp. 937–952

6 Furtado J. Some dietary and adipose tissue carotenoids are associated with the risk of nonfatal acute myocardial infarction in Costa Rica. J Nutr. 2005 Jul;135(7) :1763-9

7 Huang CS. Lycopene Inhibits Cell Migration and Invasion and Upregulates Nm23-H1 in a Highly Invasive Hepatocarcinoma, SK-Hep-1 Cells. J Nutr. 2005 Sep;135(9):2119-23

8 Pattison DJ. Dietary beta-cryptoxanthin and inflammatory polyarthritis: results from a population-based prospective study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Aug;82(2):451-5

9 Choi JS. Inhibition of nNOS and COX-2 expression by lutein in acute retinal ischemia. Nutrition 2006, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 2 May 2006

10 Lidebjer C. Low plasma levels of oxygenated carotenoids in patients with coronary artery disease. Nutr Metab Cardio Dis 2006. In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 30 June 2006

11 “Acute Coronary Syndrome” posted on the American Heart Association Website http://www.americanheart.org/presen...ntifier=3010002

12 “Stable Angina” posted on The National Institutes of Health Website http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/...icle/000198.htm