Supplementation with lutein (4 months) and α-tocopherol (2 months), in separate or combined oral doses, in control men

As part of a European project to test if ‘the consumption of diets rich in carotenoids reduces oxidative damage to human tissue components’, 15 mg/day lutein and 100 mg/day α-tocopherol were supplied to ten volunteers. α-Tocopherol (alone and combined) provoked an increase in α-tocopherol and a decrease in γ-tocopherol serum levels. Lutein levels increased during the first month (given alone) in all controls but they behaved very differently during the following 3 months. Ketocarotenoids (not supplied) increased whereas anhydroluteins (not supplied) did not change, suggesting that they are formed in vivo.