Yellow peppers can protect sight, say researchers

Neans McSweeney

Researchers in Waterford have shown the pigment in yellow peppers helps older people to protect their central vision. Most people have difficulty with reading, writing, or recognising faces, as they get older.

Researcher John Nolan who works with a team from Waterford Regional Hospital (WRH) and Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) has already won a gold medal with the Irish College of Ophthalmologists for his work.

“There is a pigment at the back of the eye, known as macular pigment, which filters out dangerous blue light and neutralises damaging free radicals. This pigment may protect the central retina from age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

“Interestingly, the pigment is entirely dietary in origin and is typically found in fruit and vegetables, with very high concentrations in yellow peppers,” he said.

The research, pioneered with the help of Dr Orla O’Donovan and Heather Kavanagh at WIT and Stephen Beatty at WRH, is probing the possibility that dietary supplements could delay or prevent the blinding disease. Waterford-based multi-national Bausch and Lomb has sponsored a study by Dr O’Donovan.

The North-South collaborative study between Waterford Regional Hospital, WIT and Royal Victoria Hospital, and Queens University, Belfast, also looks at age-related eyesight problems.