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Review
. 2020 Nov 16;25(22):5342.
doi: 10.3390/molecules25225342.

Astaxanthin and its Effects in Inflammatory Responses and Inflammation-Associated Diseases: Recent Advances and Future Directions

Ming Xian Chang  1   2   3 , Fan Xiong  1
Affiliations
Review

Astaxanthin and its Effects in Inflammatory Responses and Inflammation-Associated Diseases: Recent Advances and Future Directions

Ming Xian Chang et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Astaxanthin is a natural lipid-soluble and red-orange carotenoid. Due to its strong antioxidant property, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and immune modulation, astaxanthin has gained growing interest as a multi-target pharmacological agent against various diseases. In the current review, the anti-inflammation mechanisms of astaxanthin involved in targeting for inflammatory biomarkers and multiple signaling pathways, including PI3K/AKT, Nrf2, NF-κB, ERK1/2, JNK, p38 MAPK, and JAK-2/STAT-3, have been described. Furthermore, the applications of anti-inflammatory effects of astaxanthin in neurological diseases, diabetes, gastrointestinal diseases, hepatic and renal diseases, eye and skin disorders, are highlighted. In addition to the protective effects of astaxanthin in various chronic and acute diseases, we also summarize recent advances for the inconsistent roles of astaxanthin in infectious diseases, and give our view that the exact function of astaxanthin in response to different pathogen infection and the potential protective effects of astaxanthin in viral infectious diseases should be important research directions in the future.

Keywords: anti-inflammatory; astaxanthin; inflammation-associated diseases; oxidative stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structures of selected carotenoids.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The anti-inflammation mechanisms of astaxanthin. Inflammatory biomarkers, such as many acute phase proteins (APPs), inducible enzymes, chemokines and cytokines, are target genes regulated by astaxanthin. In addition to inflammatory molecules, astaxanthin can promote PI3K/AkT and nuclear factor erythroid 2-like 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathways, but block NF-κB, extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2), c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK), p38 MAPK, and JAK-2/STAT-3 signaling pathways to attenuate inflammation. Red arrows indicate inhibitory action, and black arrows show enhancement action.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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