Best lutein supplement

We checked every lutein softgel and brain supplement with lutein we've audited against the trials, and these are the five things that matter most if you're choosing one.

• Every lutein softgel we audited clears the benchmark in one softgel

  The trial we check labels against gave 10 mg of lutein and 2 mg of zeaxanthin a day, 12 mg in all.¹ Every single softgel we read prints 20 to 30 mg of the two in one softgel. All five score 7.1 out of 10, because none of them publishes a lab report, so the cheapest softgel at the brand's own site decides our pick.¹⁴¹⁵

• One label goes past Poison Control's daily line

  Poison Control says not to take more than 20 mg of a lutein supplement a day.⁹ NOW's softgel holds 25 mg of lutein, and its label says one a day.¹⁷ The other four give no more than 20 mg of lutein.

• The biggest trial found nothing

  In AREDS2, 3,501 older adults with macular degeneration at risk of it advancing took 10 mg of lutein and 2 mg of zeaxanthin a day or a placebo. Over five years, their thinking scores slipped at the same rate.² The only meta-analysis of lutein trials we found saw no significant effect on memory, attention or planning either.³

• The trials that found gains are small, and companies that make or sell lutein paid for most of them

  Their results came from 51 to 91 people, over six months to a year.¹⁴⁵⁷ Bio-gen Extracts, which makes lutein, funded the 2022 trial we benchmark against, and Abbott Nutrition funded two trials at the University of Georgia.¹⁴⁵

• Two of the four stacks reach 12 mg

  Alpha Brain Black Label prints 24 mg, and Qualia Mind prints exactly 12 mg. NooCube prints 20 mg of marigold extract with no lutein figure, so we can't tell how much lutein it gives you. The fourth stack has 3.6 mg.

Nutricost's softgel gives 20 mg of lutein and 4 mg of zeaxanthin, and its label says one a day, for 14 cents a day. It's the one we'd choose, because none of the five publishes a lab report and it's the cheapest at the brand's own site. Sports Research's softgel gives the same amounts in a vegan capsule, and its Lute-gen lutein comes from Bio-gen Extracts, the company that supplied the 2022 trial.

We also audited three other lutein softgels, and they score as well as our picks. Doctor's Best scores 7.1 out of 10. It uses Lutemax 2020, the extract a 2019 trial in young adults gave, but its 60-softgel bottle costs more per softgel than either of our picks.¹⁶²⁰ Puritan's Pride scores 7.1, but its 20 mg includes only 0.8 mg of zeaxanthin, and it costs more.¹⁸ NOW scores 7.1 and is the one whose 25 mg of lutein goes past Poison Control's line.¹⁷

The table ranks the brain supplements we've audited that contain lutein by audit rating, with the amount each one prints and what the formula costs for 12 mg of lutein and zeaxanthin.

The cost column scales each formula's full daily price to 12 mg, without rounding to whole capsules, so it's a price comparison and not a dose to take.

If lutein is why you're buying, one Nutricost softgel gives 24 mg for 14 cents a day.¹⁴ That's as much as a serving of Black Label, for a fraction of the price.

We wouldn't buy lutein to sharpen your thinking. The trials that found gains were small and ran for six months to a year, and companies that make or sell lutein paid for most of them. The largest trial and the only meta-analysis found no effect.¹²³

The gains those trials found are real but narrow. In the 2022 trial, 90 adults aged 40 to 75 who felt their memory had slipped did better than placebo on two visual memory tests after six months. They did no better on any of the others.¹ In older adults in Georgia, a year of the same dose improved attention and mental flexibility, and memory only in the men.⁴ And in 51 students, a year improved spatial memory, while their attention and reasoning gains tracked how much their eye pigment rose, whichever group they were in.⁵

So it suits you if you've read those trials and want to give it six months, because a softgel costs a few cents a day. It doesn't suit you if you want to feel something this week, since no trial we found tested a single dose. You also get some from food. US adults average about 1.6 mg a day from what they eat, and 100 grams of boiled spinach holds about 11 mg.¹²¹³

Poison Control says pregnant or breastfeeding women and children shouldn't take supplemental lutein, and to check with your doctor or pharmacist before you take any supplement.⁹ WebMD says large amounts taken for a long time can turn your skin yellow-orange, which isn't harmful and fades when you cut back. It also says people allergic to ragweed, chamomile or other plants in the daisy family may react to lutein made from marigolds, and that its interactions with medicines aren't fully understood.¹⁰ If you take a prescription medicine, ask your pharmacist before you try it.

Lutein's best-known use is in the AREDS2 eye formula, which gives the same 10 mg and 2 mg.¹¹ If that's why you're looking, it's a question for your eye doctor, and this page doesn't cover it.

Here's what the trials gave, and how it maps onto softgels.

Study dose benchmark

12 mg a day

Doses in the trials

12 to 27 mg a day

Time in the trials

Usually 6 to 12 months

Most of the trials gave 10 mg of lutein and 2 mg of zeaxanthin once a day, and we check labels against that 12 mg.¹²⁴ A 2019 trial in 59 young adults gave 13 or 27 mg a day of lutein and two forms of zeaxanthin. Memory and attention scores rose on both doses over six months, and not on placebo.⁶

Every single we audited is one softgel a day, which gives 20 to 30 mg. So one softgel is more than the benchmark, and we wouldn't take more than a label recommends. The 2022 trial had people take it in the evening, with or without food. The Georgia trial gave it with a meal, so the trials don't point to a best time of day.¹⁴ What they share is months of daily use. Innerbody's guide, updated in August 2026, also settles on 10 mg and 2 mg and calls the thinking research mixed. Its top pick, though, is Innerbody's own Astaxanthin+.¹⁹

Lutein's thinking trials all run for months, and none tested a single dose.

PreliminarySmall gains in some memory and attention tests after six months to a year, in trials mostly funded by companies that make or sell lutein. The largest trial and the only meta-analysis found no effect.

The trials that found gains were small and mostly funded by companies that sell lutein, and the large trial the NIH funded found nothing.¹²⁴⁵

A 2018 trial in Ireland added meso-zeaxanthin, a third form, and found better scores on one memory task after a year in 91 adults with low levels in the eye.⁷ The Georgia trials used the level in the eye as a stand-in for the level in the brain, and it rose on lutein.⁴ We found no trial comparing one brand of lutein with another for thinking.

Lutein turns up in the broad brain formulas, usually next to L-theanine, phosphatidylserine or citicoline. These are its usual neighbors, and where we found them.

• L-TheanineModerateNext to lutein in three of the four stacks we audited, Qualia Mind, Alpha Brain Black Label and NooCube.
• PhosphatidylserineModerateNext to lutein in three of the four stacks we audited, including Qualia Mind and Alpha Brain Black Label.
• CiticolinePreliminaryNext to lutein in two of the four stacks we audited, Qualia Mind and Alpha Brain Black Label.

20 sources cited

1. Lopresti AL, Smith SJ, Drummond PD. The effects of lutein and zeaxanthin supplementation on cognitive function in adults with self-reported mild cognitive complaints, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Front Nutr, 2022. Full text read. Accessed Nov 3, 2026. PMID 35252311
2. Chew EY, et al. Effect of omega-3 fatty acids, lutein/zeaxanthin, or other nutrient supplementation on cognitive function, the AREDS2 randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 2015. Abstract read. Accessed Nov 3, 2026. PMID 26305649
3. Li J, Abdel-Aal EM. Dietary lutein and cognitive function in adults, a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Molecules, 2021. Abstract read. Accessed Nov 3, 2026. PMID 34641336
4. Hammond BR Jr, et al. Effects of lutein/zeaxanthin supplementation on the cognitive function of community dwelling older adults, a randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled trial. Front Aging Neurosci, 2017. Abstract read. Accessed Nov 3, 2026. PMID 28824416
5. Renzi-Hammond LM, et al. Effects of a lutein and zeaxanthin intervention on cognitive function, a randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled trial of younger healthy adults. Nutrients, 2017. Abstract read. Accessed Nov 3, 2026. PMID 29135938
6. Stringham NT, Holmes PV, Stringham JM. Effects of macular xanthophyll supplementation on brain-derived neurotrophic factor, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and cognitive performance. Physiol Behav, 2019. Abstract read. Accessed Nov 3, 2026. PMID 31425700
7. Power R, et al. Supplemental retinal carotenoids enhance memory in healthy individuals with low levels of macular pigment in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. J Alzheimers Dis, 2018. Abstract read. Accessed Nov 3, 2026. PMID 29332050
8. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. About Herbs, Lutein. Last updated Nov 16, 2022. Accessed Nov 3, 2026. mskcc.org
9. National Capital Poison Center (Poison Control). Lutein, safety and benefits. Updated Jan 19, 2026. Accessed Nov 3, 2026. poison.org
10. WebMD. Lutein, uses, side effects, and more. Medically reviewed Nov 2, 2025. Accessed Nov 3, 2026. webmd.com
11. National Eye Institute. About AREDS and AREDS2. Updated Oct 22, 2025. Accessed Nov 3, 2026. nei.nih.gov
12. USDA Agricultural Research Service. What We Eat in America, NHANES 2017 to March 2020 prepandemic, Table 1, nutrient intakes from food and beverages. Accessed Nov 3, 2026. ars.usda.gov
13. USDA FoodData Central. Spinach, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt (SR Legacy 168463), lutein and zeaxanthin. Accessed Nov 3, 2026. fdc.nal.usda.gov
14. Nutricost. Zeaxanthin with Lutein Softgels, product page, Supplement Facts label, price and returns. Accessed Oct 20, 2026. nutricost.com
15. Sports Research. Lutein + Zeaxanthin, product page, Supplement Facts label, price and returns policy. Accessed Oct 21, 2026. sportsresearch.com
16. Doctor's Best. Lutein with Lutemax 2020, product page, Supplement Facts label and price. Accessed Oct 21, 2026. doctorsbest.com
17. NOW Foods. Lutein & Zeaxanthin Softgels, product page, Supplement Facts label and price. Accessed Oct 21, 2026. nowfoods.com
18. Puritan's Pride. Lutein 20 mg with Zeaxanthin, product page, Supplement Facts label and price. Accessed Oct 21, 2026. puritan.com
19. Innerbody. Best lutein and zeaxanthin supplements. Updated Aug 7, 2026. Accessed Nov 3, 2026. innerbody.com
20. NutraIngredients. Study strengthens support for lutein and zeaxanthin for cognitive boosts. Published Aug 29, 2019. Accessed Nov 3, 2026. nutraingredients.com