New study uncovers astaxanthin's anti-inflammatory potential against lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation

Recently, a research team led by Prof. Huang Qing at Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of Chinese Academy of Sciences found a new mechanism by which astaxanthin (AST) can target IL-6 and thus reduce LPS-induced adverse inflammatory response in macrophages.

The research results have been published in Food & Function.

Astaxanthin is a kind of natural substance with strong antioxidant effect. The latest research shows that it may also have a certain anti-inflammatory effect, but its specific mechanism is unknown.

In this study, researchers selected human monocytic leukemia cell-derived macrophages (THP-1) as experimental cells and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as inflammatory stimuli to study the molecular mechanism of astaxanthin's anti-inflammatory effect.

They found that AST intervention significantly decreased LPS-induced oxidative stress, boosted cell repair, and reduced inflammatory cytokine damage by substantially inhibiting NF-κB translocation and activation, activating p53 and inhibiting STAT3. Through further analysis and experiments, the team confirmed that AST directly binds to IL-6, disrupting the inflammatory feedback loop and potentially preventing inflammatory storms.

The results suggest that the direct binding of astaxanthin to IL-6 can inhibit the positive feedback loop of inflammatory factors, which may inhibit the inflammatory storm caused by adverse inflammatory reactions.

"Our study provides experimental and theoretical basis for astaxanthin as a dietary supplement with anti-inflammatory or immunomodulatory functions," said Wu Yahui, a member of the team.