OmniActive Health Technologies is collaborating with the Council of Responsible Nutrition (CRN) to highlight the relevance of lutein and zeaxanthin isomers for prenatal nutrition at The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology’s (ACOG) Annual Clinical & Scientific Meeting.
The partnership aims to educate and elevate awareness among obstetricians and gynecologists, as well as other maternal healthcare practitioners about the pivotal role of lutein and zeaxanthin in supporting maternal and foetal health during pregnancy.
Dr Andrea Wong, Sr. Vice President, Scientific & Regulatory Affairs, Council of Responsible Nutrition, commented: “Together with OmniActive, we plan to spread the word on the importance of prenatal nutrition, bringing clinically studied products to consumers to help meet their nutritional needs. Advancing awareness at the physician’s level is a huge part of this equation and this meeting is an effective way of reaching them.”
The importance of carotenoids in macular health
In the US, prenatal vitamins and supplements sales are expected to have exponential growth in the coming years, with estimates of USD $740M in 2023 rising to $1.43B by 2031, according to SkyQuest Technology.
A recent study showed that roughly 60% of gynecologists believe that 80-100% of their patients take supplements during pregnancy. As research around the nutritional needs in pregnancy expands, so will the need to bring products that deliver efficacious levels of certain nutrients, such as lutein and zeaxanthin, to the market.
“Current evidence supports the preferential accumulation of lutein and zeaxanthin in the human eye and neural tissues during pregnancy, especially during the third trimester. This suggests that lutein may play a functional and protective role in infant visual and cognitive development.” said Deshanie Rai, VP of Global Science, Regulatory and Advocacy at OmniActive Health Technologies.
Annual Clinical & Scientific Meeting (ACOG)
Alongside the initiative at ACOG, OmniActive is running its “Lutein for every age" campaign – an educational initiative focusing on raising awareness of early and consistent lutein and zeaxanthin intake to help support eye, cognitive and general health throughout life.
This year’s ACOG meeting will take place from May 17-19, 2024, in San Francisco, CA and is one of the largest US events of its kind, drawing thousands of physicians and healthcare professionals.