Valensa Promoting Zanthin for Eye Health

EUSTIS, Fla. Valensa International initiated efforts to actively license the University of Illinois patent (U.S. No. 5,527,533 and foreign equivalents) for the use of astaxanthin in eye health dietary supplements. FutureBiotics, Swanson Health Products and Life Extension Vitamins have each acquired licenses for the use of the patent, and will incorporate Valensas Zanthin® natural astaxanthin extract in finished dietary supplements designed to fight oxidative retinal damage and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

According to Dr. Rudi E. Moerck, president and CEO of Valensa, the availability of efficacious, proven eye health support is at the top of the list of health concerns of a growing segment of the global population. Eye health is a major concern for aging baby boomer populations of the United States, Europe and parts of Asia, he said. Today, nearly 30 percent of Americans over the age of 55 suffer from visual impairment due to age-related eye health disorders. While lutein and zeaxanthin are often promoted as leading eye health supplement ingredients, numerous scientific studies have shown that astaxanthin is by far the most effective carotenoid in addressing the free-radical and light-induced singlet oxygen damage associated with visual impairment. With its ability to cross the blood-brain/blood-eye barriers and to concentrate in the central cones of the retinal macula, astaxanthin is now emerging as the pre-eminent solution for eye health care supplementation in the management of retinal oxidative stress that would lead to macular degeneration.