Abstract: Objective: To investigate the effect of lutein on the inflammatory response of carotid atherosclerotic plaques. Methods: Totally 169 consecutive carotid atherosclerosis patients from the General Hospital of PLA were recruited, and randomly divided into placebo (starch capsule, at once-daily dose), low-dose (20 mg/d), middle-dose (40 mg/d), and highdose lutein (60 mg/d) groups. Each patient was subjected to the collection of venous blood sample and positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) examination within 1 week of the trial and after the end of the medication. The medication period was 12 months. Routine blood examination, blood biochemical indexes, inflammatory factors and drug concentration were detected in two blood samples of each patient. The carotid plaque was examined by PET-CT, and target-to-background ratio (TBR) was calculated to reflect the degree of plaque inflammatory response. Results: The serum concentrations of lutein in three treatment groups at low, medium and high doses were increased when compared with those at the beginning of the trial. Compared with the placebo group and the baseline level, the patients from the treatment groups had a significant decrease in TBR. The higher dose resulted in a greater decrease of TBR. Conclusion: Lutein can reduce the inflammatory response of carotid atherosclerotic plaques and have a definitely preventive effect on the occurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events.

Key words: lutein, atherosclerosis, inflammation, carotid artery