The Astaxanthin Aggregation Pattern Greatly Influences Its Antioxidant Activity: A Comparative Study in Caco-2 Cells
Open Access
- 1 February 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in Antioxidants
- Vol. 9 (2), 126
- https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox9020126
Abstract
Astaxanthin is an excellent antioxidant that can form unstable aggregates in biological or artificial systems. The changes of astaxanthin properties caused by molecular aggregation have gained much attention recently. Here, water-dispersible astaxanthin H- and J-aggregates were fabricated and stabilized by a natural DNA/chitosan nanocomplex (respectively noted as H-ADC and J-ADC), as evidenced by ultraviolet and visible spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Compared with J-ADC, H-ADC with equivalent astaxanthin loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency showed smaller particle size and similar zeta potential. To explore the antioxidant differences between astaxanthin H- and J-aggregates, H-ADC and J-ADC were subjected to H2O2-pretreated Caco-2 cells. Compared with astaxanthin monomers and J-aggregates, H-aggregates showed a better cytoprotective effect by promoting scavenging of intracellular reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, in vitro 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and hydroxyl free radical scavenging studies confirmed a higher efficiency of H-aggregates than J-aggregates or astaxanthin monomers. These findings give inspiration to the precise design of carotenoid aggregates for efficient utilization.Keywords
Funding Information
- Key Technology Research and Development Program of Shandong (2018YFD0901105)
- Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2017MC012, ZR2019MC035)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (31741099)
This publication has 48 references indexed in Scilit:
- Raman spectroscopic investigations on intermolecular interactions in aggregates and crystalline forms of trans‐astaxanthinJournal of Raman Spectroscopy, 2012
- Colloidal Aggregation Affects the Efficacy of Anticancer Drugs in Cell CultureACS Chemical Biology, 2012
- In vitro bioactivity of chitosan/poly (d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) compositesMaterials Letters, 2011
- Control of H‐ and J‐Type π Stacking by Peripheral Alkyl Chains and Self‐Sorting Phenomena in Perylene Bisimide Homo‐ and HeteroaggregatesChemistry – A European Journal, 2008
- Cellular Antioxidant Activity (CAA) Assay for Assessing Antioxidants, Foods, and Dietary SupplementsJournal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2007
- Comparison of ABTS, DPPH, FRAP, and ORAC assays for estimating antioxidant activity from guava fruit extractsJournal of Food Composition and Analysis, 2006
- Self-Assembled Aggregates of the Carotenoid Zeaxanthin: Time-Resolved Study of Excited StatesThe Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2005
- Supramolecular exciton chirality of carotenoid aggregatesChirality, 2003
- Investigation of the Self-Organization of Lutein and Lutein Diacetate by Electronic Absorption, Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy, and Atomic Force MicroscopyThe Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2001
- Requirements for carotenoids in fish dietsJournal of Applied Ichthyology, 1995