The Effects of Astaxanthin on Accommodative Recovery.pdfVIP

The Effects of Astaxanthin on Accommodative Recovery Nanako Takahashi and Masayoshi Kajita Introduction Supplements are becoming accepted as part of our daily diet and frequently seen shelved in stores. There are people who believe that supplements can be used to alleviate eye fatigue. As VDT (Visual Display Terminal) on electronic devices becomes smaller, the information displayed gets smaller too. Naturally, the user gets closer to the VDT, which causes stress to the eyes since it has to accommodate to the closeness of the screen (referred as accommodative fatigue). Reports have shown1) 2) that VDT usage, even for a short time, causes change in eyes ability to adjust to the smaller screen (referred as accommodation). Therefore, attention has been drawn to improve the eyes ability to accommodate. In this study, we will report the effect astaxanthin (AX) have in aiding the eyes to recover from accommodative fatigue (referred as accommodative recovery) during rest after operating an electronic device (with VDT. Note: All electronic devices used in this study have VDT). AX used for this study is a constituent of a food additive product from Haematococcus alga coloring formula. We will report if AX have an effect on accommodative recovery and also report new knowledge acquired from this study. I. Materials and Method 1. Tested Food Product The tested food product, AX as in a capsule. It was made from Astarioil, a product derived from Haematococcus. Furthermore, one capsule contains 1 mg of AX. The product was made by Fuji Science Corporation. 2. Test Subjects A total of ten people (5 men and 5 women) were used for the study. They were selected based on the following criteria: 1) Criteria for selection: (1) Between 3