Inhibition of Low-Density Lipoprotein Oxidation by Astaxanthin

Abstract

Marine animals produce astaxanthin which is a carotenoid and antioxidant. In this study we determined the in vitro and ex vivo effects of astaxanthin on LDL oxidation. The oxidation of LDL was measured in a 1 ml reaction system consisting of increasing concentrations of astaxanthin (12.5, 25.0, 50.0 microg/ml), 400 microM V-70 (2, 2'-azobis(4-methoxy-2, 4-dimethylvaleronitrile)), and LDL (70 microg/ml protein). Astaxanthin dose, dependently significantly prolonged the oxidation lag time (31.5, 45.4, 65.0 min) compared with the control (19.9 min). For the ex vivo study 24 volunteers (mean age 28.2 [SD 7.8] years) consumed astaxanthin at doses of 1.8, 3.6,14.4 and 21.6 mg per day for 14 days. No other changes were made in the diet. Fasting venous blood samples were taken at days 0, +14. LDL lag time was longer (5.0, 26.2, 42.3 and 30.7% respectively) compared with day 0 after consuming astaxanthin at doses of 1.8, 3.6,14.4 and 21.6 mg for 14 days compared with day 0, but there was no difference in oxidation of LDL between day 0 (lag time 59.9+/-7.2 min) and day 14 (57.2+/-6.0 min) in the control group. Our results provide evidence that consumption of marine animals producing astaxanthin inhibits LDL oxidation and possibly therefore contributes to the prevention of atherosclerosis.

Hydroxy-3,4-dehydro-apo-8′-lycopene and methyl hydroxy-3,4-dehydro-apo-8′-lycopenoate, novel C30 carotenoids produced by a mutant of marine bacterium Halobacillus halophilus

“…Mutagenesis of H. halophilus was carried out with cells resuspended in minimal G10 medium (glucose 10 g, NH 4 Cl 2 g, FeSO 4 Á7H 2 O 10 mg, Tris base 12 g, K 2 HPO 4 0.49 g, yeast extract 0.1 g, DSM 141 vitamin solution 1 ml and DSM 79 artificial seawater 250 ml in 750 ml tap water) in the presence of 1.0 M NaCl. To 2 ml of the cell suspension, we added and mixed 20 ml ethyl methane sulfonate (Sigma-Aldrich, Steinheim, Germany) vigorously.…”

“…2 Evaluating the pharmaceutical potential of such various carotenoid pigments could be an exciting field of medical research; however, the carotenoid species so far studied for this purpose have been restricted to a small number, including dicyclic carotenoids such as b-carotene, a-carotene, b-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, lutein, canthaxanthin, astaxanthin and fucoxanthin, and an acyclic carotenoid, lycopene. [3][4][5][6] With the exception of those carotenoids that can be isolated from a species of higher plants or be chemically synthesized, it has been difficult to find natural sources that can supply sufficient amounts of these rare carotenoids.…”

Stability and changes in astaxanthin ester composition from Haematococcus pluvialis during storage

“…The antioxidant activity of natural astaxanthin is several times higher than vitamin E (Naguib, 2000) and 10 times higher than other carotenoids, including zeaxanthin, lutein, ß-carotene, and canthaxanthin (Miki, 1991;Shinidzu et al, 1996). Pre-clinical research has suggested that astaxanthin is a suitable candidate for development as a therapeutic agent for cardiovascular oxidative stress and infl ammation (Pashkow et al, 2008), because it can inhibit the formation of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in humans (Iwamoto et al, 2000) and eliminate the lipid peroxidation caused by rofecoxib in cellular membrane models (Mason et al, 2006). Astaxanthin also has neuroprotective effects against retinal damage because of its antioxidant activity (Nakajima et al, 2008).…”

Effects of Equol on Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein-Induced Apoptosis in Endothelial Cells

“…These findings suggest that the prevention of LDL oxidation and suppression of OX-LDL-induced cellular effects can have a beneficial effect upon the progression of endothelial injury. The pathophysiological effects of OX-LDL on vascular cells have been well documented; recently, studies have reported that various components in foods can attenuate lipid oxidation [22][23][24][25] . Dietary isoflavones have been suggested to be protective against a range of diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, and cancer, and have also been reported to alleviate menopausal symptoms in postmenopausal women [26][27][28] .…”