Sami-Sabinsa’s proprietary formulation Macumax^® was shown to have vision health benefits in a clinical trial on subjects diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The study An Open-Label Pilot Study on Macumax Supplementation for Dry-Type Age-Related Macular Degeneration authored by Muhammed Majeed, Shaheen Majeed and Kalyanam Nagabhushanam, was published in the Journal of Medicinal Food (ahead of print doi.org/10.1089/jmf.2020.0097).

Macumax contains xanthophyll carotenoids Lutein and Zeaxanthin with bioavailability enhancer BioPerine^® supplemented with Bilberry and Saffron extracts along with Zinc monomethionine, in optimal amounts.

AMD is the leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of age 60. In AMD the vision usually degrades with time, highlighting the need for interventions to arrest or slow this process. As there are no effective orally-administered pharma drugs for that condition, herbs and dietary supplements can fill this void.

For efficacy evaluation, subjective symptoms/primary endpoint parameters such as difficulty in day vision, diminished vision, distorted vision, perception of black spots, dark adaptation, perception of flashes of light, and perception of objects as yellowish were assessed. Objective symptoms/secondary endpoint parameters, namely visual acuity to determine the improvement in distant vision and pinhole vision, improvement in the fundus changes, optical coherence tomography (OCT) changes, Amsler's grid aberration changes, and improvement in the visual field by using Humphrey visual field examination, were also evaluated.

“The maintenance of AMD symptoms from further deterioration is of paramount importance,” commented Sami-Sabinsa Founder and Chairman Dr. Muhammed Majeed. “Nutritional supplementation seems to hold great promise in that area. We are happy with the trial outcome, and look forward to continuing investigations.”

The study may be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1089/jmf.2020.0097.