Coffee
drinkers, rejoice! Aside from java’s energy jolt, food scientists say you may
reap another health benefit from a daily cup of joe: prevention of
deteriorating eyesight and possible blindness from retinal degeneration due to
glaucoma, aging and diabetes.
Raw
coffee is, on average, just 1 percent caffeine, but it contains 7 to 9 percent
chlorogenic acid (CLA), a strong antioxidant that prevents retinal degeneration
in mice, according to a Cornell study published in the Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry (December 2013).
The
retina is a thin tissue layer on the inside, back wall of the eye with millions
of light-sensitive cells and other nerve cells that receive and organize visual
information. It is also one of the most metabolically active tissues, demanding
high levels of oxygen and making it prone to oxidative stress. The lack of
oxygen and production of free radicals leads to tissue damage and loss of
sight.
In
the study, mice eyes were treated with nitric oxide, which creates oxidative
stress and free radicals, leading to retinal degeneration, but mice pretreated
with CLA developed no retinal damage.
The
study is “important in understanding functional foods, that is, natural foods
that provide beneficial health effects,” said Chang Y. Lee, professor of food
science and the study’s senior author. Holim Jang, a graduate student in Lee’s
lab, is the paper’s lead author. Lee’s lab has been working with Sang Hoon
Jung, a researcher at the Functional Food Center of the Korea Institute of
Science and Technology in South Korea. “Coffee is the most popular drink in the
world, and we are understanding what benefit we can get from that,” Lee said.
Previous
studies have shown that coffee also cuts the risk of such chronic diseases as
Parkinson’s, prostate cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and age-related cognitive
declines.
Since
scientists know that CLA and its metabolites are absorbed in the human
digestive system, the next step for this research is to determine whether
drinking coffee facilitates CLA to cross a membrane known as the blood-retinal
barrier. If drinking coffee proves to deliver CLA directly into the retina,
doctors may one day recommend an appropriate brew to prevent retinal damage.
Also, if future studies further prove CLA’s efficacy, then synthetic compounds
could also be developed and delivered with eye drops.
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