Nutrients: polyphenols have a protective effect in eye diseases.
Scientists analyzed dozens of studies dedicated to polyphenols — biologically active compounds of plant origin that are widely represented in the regular diet. They concluded that these compounds may have a protective effect in eye diseases associated with oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and metabolic disorders. This primarily concerns glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, and surface eye diseases. The work is published in Nutrients.
The text details the most studied polyphenols — anthocyanins, curcumin, resveratrol, epigallocatechin gallate, quercetin, and ferulic acid. According to summarized data, these substances can reduce damage to retinal and optic nerve cells, decrease inflammatory responses, affect pathological blood vessel growth, and support the functioning of the eye's antioxidant systems. In several clinical studies, polyphenols have been linked to improved functional vision metrics and slowed progression of certain diseases.
At the same time, the authors emphasize that most of the data has been obtained from experiments on cells and animals, while clinical studies in humans are still limited in scale and duration.
The review concludes that polyphenols should be considered not as a replacement for standard treatment but as a potential complement to it. For practical recommendations, according to the authors, large and well-controlled clinical studies are necessary to determine the optimal doses, forms of intake, and long-term safety of such compounds for eye health.
