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Regular eggs and lutein‐enriched eggs increased macular pigment density without changing plasma lipids
Author(s) -
Ata Shymaa M,
Barona Jacqueline,
Ratliff Joseph,
Kim Jung Eun,
AlSarraj Taif,
Leite Jose O,
Volek Jeff S,
Fernandez Maria Luz
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.23.1_supplement.722.10
Subject(s) - lutein , carotenoid , cholesterol , zoology , biology , blood pressure , dietary cholesterol , endocrinology , medicine , food science
We recruited 14 subjects (11 women and 5 men) aged 40‐70 y old to evaluate the effects of regular egg and lutein‐enriched eggs on plasma lipids and macular pigment density (MPOD). All subjects consumed the equivalent of 7 eggs/wk and they were randomly allocated to egg substitute (SUB, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 mg lutein per d), regular eggs (EGG, 213 mg cholesterol, 200 µg lutein per d) or lutein‐enriched eggs (L‐EGG, 213 mg cholesterol, 6 mg lutein per d). We measured weight, blood pressure, waist circumference, skin carotenoids, MPOD and plasma lipids both at baseline and after 6 wk. There were no changes in body weight or systolic and diastolic blood pressure for all subjects. Plasma triglycerides did not change between baseline and 6 wk. There were also no changes in total cholesterol, LDL‐C, HDL‐C or skin carotenoids between baseline and 6 wk. However, MPOD was significantly increased for both the EGG (0.27 ± 0.04 at baseline to 0.39 ± 0.09 6 wk) and the L‐EGG (0.39 ± 0.10 at baseline and 0.46 ± 0.12 at 6 wk) (P < 0.01) while no changes were seen for the egg substitute group (0.41 ± 0.09 at baseline and 0.42 ± 0.07 at week 6). These results confirm that egg is a good vehicle for dietary carotenoid absorption and that increased dietary lutein correlates with MPOD and not with skin carotenoids. The results also indicate that consuming one egg per day did not raise plasma cholesterol in this group of subjects [Supported by the American Egg Board]