Antioxidant properties of astaxanthin produced by cofermentation between Spirulina platensis and recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae against mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 damaged by H2O2

This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of astaxanthin produced co-fermented by Spirulina platensis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae on H2O2 induced damages in mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 through cell viability, oxidative stresses and mRNA expression of apoptosis factors. The results showed that 40 mu M of astaxanthin increased the cell viability of damaged cells by 45.8% and decreased the ROS fluorescence intensity by 60.57%, almost returning to the level before oxidative damage. Simultaneously, astaxanthin at this concentration could also restore SOD activity and reduce its MDA activity by 61.78%, indicating that astaxanthin had a certain antioxidant effect on oxidatively damaged cells. Microscopic observation of the morphology of damaged cells and detection of apoptotic factors revealed that expression of cell morphology and apoptotic factor mRNA gradually recovered as the astaxanthin concentration increased. It was further confirmed that damaged cells treatment with astaxanthin inhibited cell apoptosis to achieve the goal of cell protection. (C) 2019 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.