Astaxanthin ameliorates prenatal LPS-exposed behavioral deficits and oxidative stress in adult offspring

Background: Prenatal maternal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure leads to behavioral deficits such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia in the adult lives. LPS-exposure resulted in the production of cytokines and oxidative damage. On the contrary, astaxanthin is a carotenoid compound, showed neuroprotective properties via its antioxidant capacity. This study examines the effect of astaxanthin on the prenatal maternal LPS-induced postnatal behavioral deficit in mice. Results: We found that prenatal LPS-exposed mice showed extensive immobile phase in the tail suspension test, higher frequent head dipping in the hole-board test and greater hypolocomotion in the open field test. All these values were statistically significant (p < 0.05). In addition, a marked elevation of the level of lipid peroxidation, advanced protein oxidation product, nitric oxide, while a pronounced depletion of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione) were observed in the adult offspring mice that were prenatally exposed to LPS. To the contrary, 6-weeks long treatment with astaxanthin significantly improved all behavioral deficits (p < 0.05) and diminished prenatal LPS-induced oxidative stress markers in the brain and liver. Conclusions: Taken together, these results suggest that prenatal maternal LPS-exposure leads to behavioral deficits in the adults, while astaxanthin ameliorates the behavioral deficits presumably via its antioxidant property.