Nutraceuticals in prevention of cataract – An evidence based approach

Cataract is a principal cause of blindness in the world and is characterized by clouding of eye's natural lens. Surgery is the major therapeutic step taken to cure cataract; however, it is having its own limitations and complications such as iris prolapse, raised IOP, infection, cystoid macular edema and posterior capsular opacification (PCO). So world is looking toward more robust and natural ways to prevent cataract. One of the important factors that can play a role in prevention of any and many diseases is diet of the people. The inclusion of certain naturally occurring food and nutraceuticals is coming up as a best alternative for curing cataract because of their presumed safety, potential nutritional and therapeutic effects. Some nutraceuticals can act as an anticataract agent through some or the other molecular mechanism if consumed by normal population deliberately or inadvertently.