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The macula is the portion of the eye responsible for fine vision. Degeneration of the macula is the leading cause of severe visual loss in the United States and Europe in persons aged 55 years or older. The risk factors for macular degeneration include aging, atherosclerosis, and high blood pressure. There is no current medical treatment for the most common form of macular degeneration. Laser surgery is used for those individuals who develop a less common type of macular degeneration.

Bilberry anthocyanosides may offer significant protection against the development of macular degeneration. The rate of retinal degeneration can be retarded by changing their diet from a commercial lab chow to a “well-defined diet.” Preliminary research suggests that flavonoid components in the well-defined diets may be responsible for the protective effects.

In one study, thirty-one patients with various types of retinopathy (twenty with diabetic retinopathy, five with retinitis pigmentosa, four with macular degeneration, and two with hemorrhagic retinopathy due to anticoagulant therapy) were treated with bilberry extract. A tendency toward reduced permeability and a tendency to hemorrhage were observed in all patients, especially those with diabetic retinopathy.