Unibar Corporation has announced the results of a recent capsanthin study it funded, which was published in the Journal of Food Biochemistry. The animal study details the natural ingredient’s potential benefits for eye health by supporting the ocular system’s ability to regulate intraocular pressure (IOP).
Capsanthin is a lipophilic carotenoid primarily found in ripe red peppers, is responsible for the red colour of paprika and is present in an esterified form with fatty acids. Carotenoids like lutein and zeaxanthin have been researched for their eye health benefits, Unibar says, and capsanthin has recently been added to the list of applicable carotenoids while also displaying superior antioxidant activity.
The study aimed to observe the IOP lowering effect and ocular tolerability of capsanthin in IOP-induced rats. In addition to control and disease groups, the study observed the effects of three capsanthin dosage groups at 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg of body weight daily in addition to a standard treatment group using pilocarpine for 28 days.
“Until now, topical ocular drops were the only way to address elevated IOP but capsanthin presents an alternate and efficacious option via an oral application. And natural products like capsanthin can enhance patient compliance and affordability when facing or anticipating this health challenge,” said Sevanti Mehta, President of Unibar. “Increased IOP is a major risk factor for eye damage and eventual vision loss because it can lead to mechanical stress and tissue damage within the retina. This initial research on our CapsiClear shows that incorporating capsanthin into a regular diet via supplementation can provide significant help and potentially reduce that risk.”
The study results showed after 10 days of treatment, decreases in IOP were observable and, after 28 days, IOP returned to normal levels that were comparable to the control group. Capsanthin was also observed to deliver similar efficacy to the test drug pilocarpine, the company says, without any negative side effects such as toxicity, mortality, changes in body weight, and feed consumption.
“This study is one of several on capsanthin that we hope to see published over the coming year to solidify our claim that it is the most powerful and holistic natural solution for ocular nutrition,” said Mehta. “We spent eight years developing CapsiClear and are happy to see the hard work pay off with outstanding results both with the research and with consumer response to currently available products containing our capsanthin ingredient.”
CapsiClear is a patent-pending combination of carotenoids sourced from chili peppers and is standardised to 50% capsanthin. Unibar says CapsiClear supports vision health and performance by helping to increase macular pigment optical density, protect the eyes from the effects of blue and white light, improve photostress recovery for decreased eye strain, and reduce IOP.
