Writing in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a team of food scientists reports that coffee may play a role in preventing deteriorating eyesight and possible blindness from retinal degeneration due to glaucoma, aging and diabetes. A Cornell study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that chlorogenic acid, a strong antioxidant contained in coffee, prevents retinal degeneration in mice. 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. Retina tissue is highly metabolically active, and it needs lots of oxygen, which can make it prone to oxidative stress. Without it, the tissue is particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress and prone to the production of free radicals, which leads to tissue damage and loss of sight. To conduct their experiment, mice were treated with nitric oxide, which creates oxidative stress and free radicals and leads to retinal degeneration. Mice in the test group that were treated with CLA developed no retinal generation, the researchers said. "Coffee is the most popular drink in the world, and we are understanding what benefit we can get from that," lead study author Chang Y. Lee, a food science professor at Cornell, said in a statement. The study is "important in understanding functional foods, that is, natural foods that provide beneficial health effects," Chang Y. Lee, professor of food science and the study's senior author, said in a news release. Cornell said the next step for this research is to determine whether drinking coffee facilitates chlorogenic acid to cross a membrane known as the blood-retinal barrier. If drinking coffee proves to deliver chlorogenic acid directly into the retina, doctors may one day recommend an appropriate brew to prevent retinal damage.
– Add this to the good-for-you, bad-for-you debate over coffee: A new study out of Cornell suggests that it might help keep your eyes healthy, reports Syracuse.com. Specifically, an antioxidant in coffee called chlorogenic acid, or CLA, staves off retinal degeneration in mice, reports Nature World News. In humans, that malady is brought on by glaucoma, aging, and diabetes. "Coffee is the most popular drink in the world, and we are understanding what benefit we can get from that," says lead author Chang Y. Lee of Cornell. Mice that had been treated with CLA showed no sign of retinal damage even after being exposed to nitric oxide, which speeds up the degenerative process. The next step is to determine whether coffee delivers CLA directly to the retina, reports AFP. If so, scientists might be able to tailor a specific brew for the eyes. (Click to read about another recent study that found coffee's reputation for dehydration is exaggerated.)