薬理と治療

Abstract

Objective A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted to assess the effects of freeze-dried aronia tablets including anthocyanin on eye fatigue in healthy subjects. Methods Twenty-six healthy adult participants who worked with VDTs and have eye fatigue were screened by an ophthalmologist. Participants were allocated to either an aronia group（n＝13）or a placebo group（n＝13）, who ingested 5 aronia or placebo tablets, respectively, per day for 4 weeks. Eye fatigue asperity was measured at 0 and 4 weeks by accommodative function test, flicker test, and subjective symptom analysis. Safety was evaluated by physical examination, urinalysis, blood test, and ophthalmologic examination. Results Of the 26 participants, 2 subjects from the aronia group dropped out of the study because of the lack of test food intake. Therefore, the final analysis included 11 and 13 participants in the aronia and placebo groups, respectively. After intake of the appropriate test food, the accommodative function after 45 min of VDT load was significantly improved in the aronia group compared with that in the placebo group（P＜0.05）. The assessment of flicker test and subjective symptoms related to eye fatigue were not different between groups. No medical changes or safety concerns were observed by physical examination, urinalysis, blood test, or ophthalmologic examination. Conclusion These results suggest that the intake of freeze-dried aronia tablets improve eye fatigue after VDT load in healthy Japanese adults. In addition, the intake of aronia tablets was safe under the conditions used in this study.