Protective Effects of Astaxanthin against Oxidative Stress: Attenuation of TNF-α-Induced Oxidative Damage in SW480 Cells and Azoxymethane/Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis-Associated Cancer in C57BL/6 Mice
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In this study, we investigated the protective effects of astaxanthin (AST) against oxidative stress induced by the combination of azoxymethane (AOM) and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in colitis-associated cancer (CAC) and TNF-α-induced human colorectal cancer cells (SW480), as well as the underlying mechanism. In vitro experiments revealed that astaxanthin reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and inhibited the expression of Phosphorylated JNK (P-JNK), Phosphorylated ERK (P-ERK), Phosphorylated p65 (P-p65), and the NF-κB downstream protein cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). In vivo experiments showed that astaxanthin ameliorated AOM/DSS-induced weight loss, shortened the colon length, and caused histomorphological changes. In addition, astaxanthin suppressed cellular inflammation by modulating the MAPK and NF-κB pathways and inhibiting the expression of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α. In conclusion, astaxanthin attenuates cellular inflammation and CAC through its antioxidant effects.
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Mechanistic interpretations of microalgal bioactive signalling should be approached cautiously, and no single pathway can fully explain their biological activity across all models.
“Thus, mechanistic interpretations should be approached cautiously, and no single pathway can fully explain their biological activity across all models [54].”
From Microalgae Bioactives for Functional Food Innovation and Health Promotion (2025) · cites this paper as [54]
The Discussion (page unavailable) describes several pathways implicated in astaxanthin’s effects, including MAPK, NF-κB and autophagy-related signalling. That supports caution about explaining astaxanthin through one pathway, but the paper does not establish the claim for microalgal bioactives generally or across all models. (LLM, conf=0.78)
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- Authors
- Zhang, H., Wang, M., Zhou, Y., Bao, S., Wang, F., & Li, C.
- Affiliations
- Yangzhou University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Li, Chunmei
- Venue
- Marine Drugs
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2024-10-12
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 469
- ISSN
- 1660-3397 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC11509176
- OpenAlex
- W4403398926
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 9
- FWCI
- 3.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Marine Drugs (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (31800284, QN202328, 2017M621836)
- Project of Science and technology development of traditional Chinese medicine in Jiangsu Province (31800284, QN202328, 2017M621836)
- Post-Doctoral Research Fund of China grant (31800284, QN202328, 2017M621836)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Biochemistry › Antioxidant Activity and Oxidative Stress
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Rehabilitation › Exercise and Physiological Responses
- Keywords
- astaxanthin, oxidative stress, colitis-associated colorectal cancer, colorectal cancer, reactive oxygen species, MAPK signaling, NF-κB signaling, cyclooxygenase-2, inflammatory cytokines, inflammation, antioxidant activity, SW480 cells
- MeSH terms
- Colitis-Associated Neoplasms, Animals, Antioxidants, Azoxymethane, Colitis, Disease Models, Animal, Humans, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha, Dextran Sulfate, NF-kappa B, Reactive Oxygen Species, Oxidative Stress, Xanthophylls, Cell Line, Tumor, Mice
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