TY - JOUR
T1 - Lutein and brain function
AU - Erdman, John W.
AU - Smith, Joshua W.
AU - Kuchan, Matthew J.
AU - Mohn, Emily S.
AU - Johnson, Elizabeth J.
AU - Rubakhin, Stanislav S.
AU - Wang, Lin
AU - Sweedler, Jonathan V.
AU - Neuringer, Martha
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2015/12
Y1 - 2015/12
N2 - Lutein is one of the most prevalent carotenoids in nature and in the human diet. Together with zeaxanthin, it is highly concentrated as macular pigment in the foveal retina of primates, attenuating blue light exposure, providing protection from photo-oxidation and enhancing visual performance. Recently, interest in lutein has expanded beyond the retina to its possible contributions to brain development and function. Only primates accumulate lutein within the brain, but little is known about its distribution or physiological role. Our team has begun to utilize the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) model to study the uptake and bio-localization of lutein in the brain. Our overall goal has been to assess the association of lutein localization with brain function. In this review, we will first cover the evolution of the non-human primate model for lutein and brain studies, discuss prior association studies of lutein with retina and brain function, and review approaches that can be used to localize brain lutein. We also describe our approach to the biosynthesis of13C-lutein, which will allow investigation of lutein flux, localization, metabolism and pharmacokinetics. Lastly, we describe potential future research opportunities.
AB - Lutein is one of the most prevalent carotenoids in nature and in the human diet. Together with zeaxanthin, it is highly concentrated as macular pigment in the foveal retina of primates, attenuating blue light exposure, providing protection from photo-oxidation and enhancing visual performance. Recently, interest in lutein has expanded beyond the retina to its possible contributions to brain development and function. Only primates accumulate lutein within the brain, but little is known about its distribution or physiological role. Our team has begun to utilize the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) model to study the uptake and bio-localization of lutein in the brain. Our overall goal has been to assess the association of lutein localization with brain function. In this review, we will first cover the evolution of the non-human primate model for lutein and brain studies, discuss prior association studies of lutein with retina and brain function, and review approaches that can be used to localize brain lutein. We also describe our approach to the biosynthesis of13C-lutein, which will allow investigation of lutein flux, localization, metabolism and pharmacokinetics. Lastly, we describe potential future research opportunities.
KW - Animal models
KW - Brain function
KW - Carotenoids
KW - Lutein
KW - Monkeys
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84964715208&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.3390/foods4040547
DO - 10.3390/foods4040547
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84964715208
SN - 2304-8158
VL - 4
SP - 547
EP - 564
JO - Foods
JF - Foods
IS - 4
ER -