Effects of astaxanthin in mice acutely infected withTrypanosoma cruzi

Abstract

During Trypanosoma cruzi infection, oxidative stress is considered a contributing factor for dilated cardiomyopathy development. In this study, the effects of astaxanthin (ASTX) were evaluated as an alternative drug treatment for Chagas disease in a mouse model during the acute infection phase, given its anti-inflammatory, immunomodulating, and anti-oxidative properties. ASTX was tested in vitro in parasites grown axenically and in co-culture with Vero cells. In vivo tests were performed in BALB/c mice (4–6 weeks old) infected with Trypanosoma cruzi and supplemented with ASTX (10 mg/kg/day) and/or nifurtimox (NFMX; 100 mg/kg/day). Results show that ASTX has some detrimental effects on axenically cultured parasites, but not when cultured with mammalian cell monolayers. In vivo, ASTX did not have any therapeutic value against acute Trypanosoma cruzi infection, used either alone or in combination with NFMX. Infected animals treated with NFMX or ASTX/NFMX survived the experimental period (60 days), while infected animals treated only with ASTX died before day 30 post-infection. ASTX did not show any effect on the control of parasitemia; however, it was associated with an increment in focal heart lymphoplasmacytic infiltration, a reduced number of amastigote nests in cardiac tissue, and less hyperplasic spleen follicles when compared to control groups. Unexpectedly, ASTX showed a negative effect in infected animals co-treated with NFMX. An increment in parasitemia duration was observed, possibly due to ASTX blocking of free radicals, an anti-parasitic mechanism of NFMX. In conclusion, astaxanthin is not recommended during the acute phase of Chagas disease, either alone or in combination with nifurtimox.

Recent Advances in the Carotenoids Added to Food Packaging Films: A Review

“…[92]. In another study, the parasitic (Trypanosoma cruzi) load was significantly reduced in vitro, but no significant observation was observed in vivo when studied in a mouse model [93]. In another study, AXT showed a potential antibacterial effect in a Helicobacter pylori-infected mouse model.…”

“…Shanmugapriya et al formulated AXT-loaded nanoemulsions for treating infections caused by both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial species[92]. In another study, the parasitic (Trypanosoma cruzi) load was significantly reduced in vitro, but no significant observation was observed in vivo when studied in a mouse model[93]. In another study, AXT showed a potential antibacterial effect in a Helicobacter pylori-infected mouse model.…”

What Do We Know about Antimicrobial Activity of Astaxanthin and Fucoxanthin?

“…In the in vitro study of Trypanosoma cruzi, the viability of the parasite was decreased in doses of AST 200-300 µg/mL. Simultaneously, the authors did not observe the therapeutic effect of AST against acute T. cruzi infection in the mice model [35]. In animal studies of mice infected with Helicobacter pylori, it was shown that AST has an impact on the decrease of bacterial abundance in the stomach.…”

Potential Role of Antioxidants as Adjunctive Therapy in Chagas Disease

“…The number of parasites used for challenge infection was variable, ranging from 1 × 10 1 to 1 × 10 5 blood trypomastigotes, that was mostly related to virulence of the parasite isolates but unrelated to the development of the acute or chronic phase. The antioxidant compounds used in these studies included phenyl-α-tert-butyl nitrone (PBN) [50,51], carvedilol, vitamin E (vitE) and/or vitamin C (vitC) [52,53], melatonin [54], curcumin [55], resveratrol, and astaxanthin [56]. Vitamin C was the most commonly used antioxidant, evalu-ated in five of the published studies.…”

“…Three of the antioxidant compounds, vitC, curcumin, and PBN, were also evaluated in combination with benznidazole. Only astaxanthin was evaluated in combination with nifurtimox [56] ( Table 1). The oral route of administration of the antioxidant compounds was used in >80% the studies.…”