Liu, Xuebo 1,2, Shibata, Takahiro 2, and Osawa, Toshihiko 2
1 College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University
2 Graduate School of Bioagricultural Science, Nagoya University

Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant that occurs naturally in a wide variety of living organisms. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect and the mechanism of astaxanthin on reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated apoptosis in dopaminergic SH-SY5Y cells. The treatment with DHA hydroperoxide (DHA-OOH) or 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), either of which is ROS-inducing neurotoxin, led to a significant decrease in viable dopaminergic SH-SY5Y cells by MTT assay, whereas a significant protection was shown while the cells were pretreated with astaxanthin. Moreover, 100 nM astaxanthin pretreatment significantly inhibited apoptosis, mitochondrial abnormalities and intracellular ROS generation occurred in either DHA-OOH- or 6-OHDA-treated cells. The neuroprotective effect of astaxanthin is suggested to be dependent upon its antioxidant potential and mitochondria protection; therefore, it is strongly suggested that astaxanthin may be an effective treatment for oxidative stress-associated neurodegeneration.