The Effect of Supplementation with an Extract of Berries on Presbyopia and Tear Production

by | May 21, 2024 | 2024, Eye Health, Fruits and Vegetables, Recent Articles

Written by Harold Oster, MD. Results suggest that oral supplementation with a berry extract containing anthocyanins and iridoids may improve near vision and tear production in individuals with presbyopia.

Presbyopia is estimated to affect more than a billion people globally. Access to the care required to restore normal vision is difficult or impossible for many living in developing countries1. While presbyopia occurs in most people as they age, ocular inflammation may play a role2. Dry eye is a common disorder affecting millions. It is uncomfortable and can lead to a loss of quality of life due to pain and disability3. Inflammation on the ocular surface may contribute to the development of dry eye4. Anthocyanins and iridoids are organic chemical compounds found in various fruits, including berries. These compounds have been shown to possess health benefits due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties5,6.

Dorota Szumny et al. studied the effect of oral supplementation with an extract of chokeberries, honeysuckle berries, and bilberries on adults with presbyopia and a best-corrected vision of 20/40 or lower. The double-blind study consisted of two stages of six weeks each, interrupted by a five-week washout period. Thirty participants were randomly assigned to two groups. In the two stages, each group alternately consumed an extract of chokeberry (200 mg), bilberry (100 mg), and honeysuckle berry (100 mg) containing at least 25% anthocyanins and 4.5% iridoids, or a placebo. The participants were examined at the beginning and end of each stage for distance and near vision, ocular pressure, contrast sensitivity7, and tear production with the Schirmer, tear film break time (TBUT)8, and LIPCOF tests9.

The authors noted the following:

  • Based on inclusion criteria, 23 participants completed the study.
  • In the second stage of the study, participants receiving the berry extract were more likely to improve in near visual acuity than those in the control group. (92.3% vs 50%) There was no significant difference in the first stage of the study.
  • In the first stage, participants in the study group were more likely to improve in the Schirmer tear production test than those in the control group. (80.0% vs 38.5%) There was no difference between the two groups in the second stage.
  • No differences were noted between the study and placebo groups in distance vision, contrast sensitivity, intraocular pressure, visual fields, or the LIPCOF and TBUT tests.

Results suggest that supplementation with a berry extract containing anthocyanins and iridoids may lead to improvement in near vision and tear production in individuals with presbyopia. Limitations of the study include its small sample size and short duration.

Source: Szumny, Dorota, Alicja Zofia Kucharska, Karolina Czajor, Karolina Bernacka, Sabina Ziółkowska, Patrycja Krzyżanowska-Berkowska, Jan Magdalan, Marta Misiuk-Hojło, Tomasz Sozański, and Adam Szeląg. “Extract from Aronia melanocarpa, Lonicera caerulea, and Vaccinium myrtillus Improves near Visual Acuity in People with Presbyopia.” Nutrients 16, no. 7 (2024): 926.

© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).

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Posted May 21, 2024.

Harold Oster, MD graduated from medical school in Miami, Florida in 1992 and moved to Minnesota in 2004. After more than 25 years of practicing Internal Medicine, he recently retired. Dr. Oster is especially interested in nutrition, weight management, and disease prevention. Visit his website at haroldoster.com.

References:

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  2. Grzybowski A, Ruamviboonsuk V. Pharmacological Treatment in Presbyopia. Journal of clinical medicine. Mar 3 2022;11(5)doi:10.3390/jcm11051385
  3. Clayton JA. Dry Eye. The New England journal of medicine. Jun 7 2018;378(23):2212-2223. doi:10.1056/NEJMra1407936
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  9. Pult H, Purslow C, Murphy PJ. The relationship between clinical signs and dry eye symptoms. Eye (Lond). Apr 2011;25(4):502-10. doi:10.1038/eye.2010.228