Study on protective effects of astaxanthin on acute chemical liver injury in mice

ObjectiveTo study the protective effects of astaxanthin against the acute chemical liver injury in mice and research its possible mechanism.MethodsSixty male Kunming mice were randomly distributed into control group,acute chemical liver injury model group,DDB group(15 mg/kg) and low,middle,high dose of astaxanthin groups(10,15,20 mg/kg).Determination and comparison were done for liver index,serum alanine transaminase(ALT),aspartate transaminase(AST),superoxide dismutase(SOD),glutathione perioxidase(GSH-Px) activity,malondialdehyde(MDA) content,liver SOD,GSH-Px activity,MDA content and liver tissue pathology index.ResultsTreatment with different dose astaxanthin could significantly increase serum and liver tissue SOD(model group:74.52±14.40,102.29±34.29;astaxanthin groups from low to high dose:110.18±14.28,141.52±28.29;138.09±17.81,172.20±29.24;170.19±20.20,200.12±33.42),GSH-Px activity(model group:60.13±10.28,110.69±24.26;astaxanthin groups from low to high dose:63.30±11.01,112.29±25.41;72.40±10.77,142.96±24.13;90.17±11.29,170.38±26.34)(P0.01) and decrease serum ALT(model group:108.02±15.06;astaxanthin groups from low to high dose:99.29±5.27,83.50±5.12,68.12±5.12),AST(model group:97.28±12.28;astaxanthin groups from low to high dose:80.49±4.28,64.20±4.10,52.21±4.42)(P0.01) and MDA content in liver tissue(model group:11.49±2.04,12.66±2.01;astaxanthin groups from low to high dose:10.15±1.12,11.28±1.72;9.71±1.26,9.87±1.19;8.21±1.38,9.12±1.24)(P0.01).Pathology index observations showed that astaxanthin could ameliorate the liver injury in different degree.ConclusionAstaxanthin showed protective effects on the acute chemical liver injury induce by CCl4 in mice.