Paprika Derivative Saves Vision, Chesterfield Business Says

Chesterfield-based ZeaVision announced Tuesday that recent studies show the benefits of a dietary nutrient to lower the risk of going blind from Age-Related Macular Degeneration or AMD.

ZeaVision deals in manufacturing and distributing the reported key nutrient, Zeaxanthin (zee-uh-zan-thin) made from Paprika peppers.

A person would have to eat 20 ears of corn a day to get a daily dose of the nutrient, according to information linked with ZeaVision.

CEO and Chairman Dennis L. Gierhart said on ZeaVision's website that he founded the company 20 years ago when he learned the nutrient was important to vision.

"I believe I was the first human to take large purified quantities of zeaxanthin over extended periods of time, and I continue to take it now," Gierhart said. There was no information on his eyesight or health.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in people over age 55, according to the American Optometric Association.

Portions of a press release about the vision nutrient follows:

While Zeaxanthin is naturally found in the macula as the primary protective carotenoid, it is difficult to replenish through the average daily diet.

For example, one would have to eat approximately 20 ears of corn to get a recommended dosage of 8-10 mg of natural dietary Zeaxanthin per daily serving.

AMD destroys central vision through damage to the macula, a small part of the retina in the back of the eye.

Key risk factors for AMD include family history, smoking (past or present), age, low macular pigment, light skin and eyes, and obesity. Caucasian women are also at slightly higher risk.

In 2011, two studies demonstrated that Zeaxanthin lowers blindness risk from macular degeneration, and another showed the nutrient streamlines treatment for the disease.

• A study from the Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam in the Netherlands demonstrates that nutrients—specifically dietary Zeaxanthin—reduce the risk of early AMD.
• The Beijing Tongren Eye Center in China recently published data indicating a direct correlation between higher blood serum levels of Zeaxanthin and a 96% reduction of developing AMD.
• A study in the U.S. via the Retina Center of St. Louis, shows that an additional 20 mg/per day of Zeaxanthin to patients undergoing therapy for advanced or wet AMD significantly reduces the number of invasive treatment cycles required.

ZeaVision said its EyePromise brand of supplements is an all-natural nutraceutical.