Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Oct 17;63(2 Suppl 3):E189-E199.
doi: 10.15167/2421-4248/jpmh2022.63.2S3.2760. eCollection 2022 Jun.

Dietary supplements in retinal diseases, glaucoma, and other ocular conditions

Maria Chiara Medori  1 , Zakira Naureen  2 , Kristjana Dhuli  1 , Giorgio Placidi  3   4 , Benedetto Falsini  3   4 , Matteo Bertelli  1   2   5
Affiliations
Review

Dietary supplements in retinal diseases, glaucoma, and other ocular conditions

Maria Chiara Medori et al. J Prev Med Hyg. .

Abstract

Environmental pollution, inadequate eating habits and unhealthy lifestyles have led to a tremendous increase in ocular diseases worldwide. Given the costly treatments that are currently available for the most common and threatening eye diseases (such as cataract, dry eye disorder, or diabetic retinopathy), curing these diseases or preventing refractive errors by taking nutraceuticals and natural compounds that are present in our daily diet is a very valuable intervention. The eyes are the most important part of our visual system and require micronutrients such as vitamins, carotenoids, trace metals, and omega-3 fatty acids in order to function properly and to protect themselves against light-induced and age-mediated degenerative disorders. The Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) has been in the limelight since the 1980s because of the several health benefits it provides, including eye health. MedDiet is characterized by the consumption of small amounts of red meat, while emphasizing the intake of fish, eggs, nuts, legumes, citrus fruits, green vegetables, olives and their derivatives, especially olive oil, and dairy products in a proportionate manner, in order to achieve the maximum health benefits. The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties of these foods - both when used as an ingredient in the dietary regime or as a source of nutritional supplements - have shown promising results in the management of chronic degenerative ocular diseases, both in animal models and in human subjects. In this chapter, we will focus on the importance of MedDiet and natural compounds for the visual system and its role in slowing down age-related ocular degeneration.

Keywords: Antioxidants; Glaucoma; Med Diet; Ocular diseases; Retinal diseases.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
MedDiet- Gut Microbiota-Eye Axis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Valero-Vello M, Peris-Martínez C, García-Medina JJ, Sanz-González SM, Ramírez AI, Fernández-Albarral JA, Galarreta-Mira D, Zanón-Moreno V, Casaroli-Marano RP, Pinazo-Duran MD. Searching for the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective potential of natural food and nutritional supplements for ocular health in the mediterranean population. Foods 2021;10:1231. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/foods10061231 10.3390/foods10061231 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Burton MJ, Ramke J, Marques AP, Bourne RRA, Congdon N, Jones I, Ah Tong BAM, Arunga S, Bachani D, Bascaran C, Bastawrous A, Blanchet K, Braithwaite T, Buchan JC, Cairns J, Cama A, Chagunda M, Chuluunkhuu C, Cooper A, Crofts-Lawrence J, Dean WH, Denniston AK, Ehrlich JR, Emerson PM, Evans JR, Frick KD, Friedman DS, Furtado JM, Gichangi MM, Gichuhi S, Gilbert SS, Gurung R, Habtamu E, Holland P, Jonas JB, Keane PA, Keay L, Khanna RC, Khaw PT, Kuper H, Kyari F, Lansingh VC, Mactaggart I, Mafwiri MM, Mathenge W, McCormick I, Morjaria P, Mowatt L, Muirhead D, Murthy GVS, Mwangi N, Patel DB, Peto T, Qureshi BM, Salomão SR, Sarah V, Shilio BR, Solomon AW, Swenor BK, Taylor HR, Wang N, Webson A, West SK, Wong TY, Wormald R, Yasmin S, Yusufu M, Silva JC, Resnikoff S, Ravilla T, Gilbert CE, Foster A, Faal HB. The Lancet Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health: vision beyond 2020. Lancet Glob Health 2021:9:e489-e551. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30488-5 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30488-5 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Falsini B, Placidi G, De Siena E, Savastano MC, Minnella AM, Maceroni M, Midena G, Ziccardi L, Parisi V, Bertelli M, Maltese PE, Chiurazzi P, Rizzo S. USH2A-Related Retinitis Pigmentosa: staging of disease severity and morpho-functional studies. Diagnostics (Basel) 2021;11:213. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics11020213 10.3390/diagnostics11020213 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Marino V, Dal Cortivo G, Maltese PE, Placidi G, De Siena E, Falsini B, Bertelli M, Dell’Orco D. Impaired Ca2+ sensitivity of a novel GCAP1 variant causes cone dystrophy and leads to abnormal synaptic transmission between photoreceptors and bipolar cells. Int J Mol Sci 2021;22:4030. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22084030 10.3390/ijms22084030 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Falsini B, Placidi G, De Siena E, Chiurazzi P, Minnella AM, Savastano MC, Ziccardi L, Parisi V, Iarossi G, Percio M, Piteková B, Marceddu G, Maltese PE, Bertelli M. Genetic characteristics of 234 Italian patients with macular and cone/cone-rod dystrophy. Sci Rep 2022;12:3774. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07618-1 10.1038/s41598-022-07618-1 - DOI - PMC - PubMed