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Does squalene alter the antioxidant potential of astaxanthin and fucoxanthinol? In vitro evidence in RAW 264.7 cells, a murine macrophage

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Abstract

Astaxanthin (Ax) and fucoxanthin/fucoxanthinol (FuOH) are marine xanthophylls exhibiting anti-oxidant effects. Squalene (SQ) is a triterpenoid and is a precursor of sterols. This study aimed to determine if SQ can improve the effect of Ax/FuOH on lipid peroxidation. RAW 264.7 cells were treated with different concentrations of Ax, FuOH and SQ and corresponding rate of cell survival was noted. In addition,combination groups - Ax + SQ and FuOH + SQ- were also run. Cells treated with Ax, FuOH, SQ, Ax + SQ and FuOH + SQ were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide and lipid hydroperoxides were estimated. Results showed that 5 μM Ax, 2 μM FuOH and 10 μM SQ supported cell survival. In presence of SQ, cell viability improved for higher concentrations of FuOH (5, 10 μM). Lipid hydroperoxides were supressed by Ax, FuOH, Ax + SQ and FUOH +SQ and were significantly lower in Ax + SQ, indicating the synergistic effect of Ax and SQ. To conclude, combination of Ax with SQ enhances its ability to supress lipid peroxidation while with FuOH, SQ attenuates the toxic effect at higher doses. Moreover, this is the first time that the combined effect of SQ and carotenoids has been studied and reported.

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Abbreviations

Ax:

Astaxanthin

FuOH:

Fucoxanthinol

DMSO:

Dimethyl sulfoxide

DPPP:

diphenyl-1-pyrenylphosphine

SQ:

Squalene

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by “Scientific technique research promotion program for agriculture, forestry, fisheries and food industry” and partially supported by a National Project for the Formation of Tohoku Marine Science Center from MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science & Technology in Japan). SRK and BN thank JSPS for the award of post-doctoral fellowship and invitation fellowship, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Biofunctional Material Chemistry, Faculty of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, 3-1-1, Minato Cho, Hakodate, Hokkaido, 041-8611, Japan

    Sangeetha Ravi Kumar, Bhaskar Narayan, Yuki Kizawa, Masashi Hosokawa & Kazuo Miyashita

  2. Department of Meat & Marine Sciences, CSIR-CFTRI, Mysore, 570 020, India

    Bhaskar Narayan

Authors
  1. Sangeetha Ravi Kumar
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  2. Bhaskar Narayan
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  3. Yuki Kizawa
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  4. Masashi Hosokawa
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  5. Kazuo Miyashita
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sangeetha Ravi Kumar.

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The authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

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Research Highlights

• This is the first report indicating the combined effect of squalene and marine xanthophylls

• Results indicate the potential of combining squalene with marine xanthophylls that would enhance the activity of the latter

• Squalene enhanced tolerance of cells to higher concentration of fucoxanthinol and synergistically decreased lipid peroxidation in cells with astaxanthin

• The results have significance in utilizing the combination of astaxanthin and squalene in cosmeceuticals, food and feed formulations

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Ravi Kumar, S., Narayan, B., Kizawa, Y. et al. Does squalene alter the antioxidant potential of astaxanthin and fucoxanthinol? In vitro evidence in RAW 264.7 cells, a murine macrophage. J Food Sci Technol 53, 2139–2143 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-015-2077-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-015-2077-8

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