Astaxanthin and diabetes

"…It is hence natural that the next step of this research endeavor was to focus on the effect of Astaxanthin on one of these common complications, namely nephropathy (Naito et al., 2004).

Diabetic nephropathy is characterized by the enlargement of glomerular mesangium due to the accumulation of extra-cellular matrix proteins, and is a leading cause of end-stage renal disease.

Clinical studies in subjects with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes clearly link hyperglycemia to vascular complications, including diabetic nephropathy. In this study, the researchers examined whether chronic administration of Astaxanthin could prevent the progression of diabetic nephropathy induced by oxidative stress in mice.

Again, female db/db mice were used, and non-diabetic db/m mice served as a control. After 12 weeks of treatment, the Astaxanthin-treated group showed a lower level of blood glucose as compared with the non-treated db/db group.

The relative mesangial area in the Astaxanthin-treated group was significantly smaller than the non-treated db/db group. The increases in urinary albumin and DNA oxidation marker at 12 weeks of treatment were significantly inhibited by chronic supplementation with Astaxanthin.

The results suggested that the antioxidative activity of Astaxanthin reduced oxidative stress on the kidneys and prevented renal cell damage.

In conclusion, administration of Astaxanthin might be a novel approach for the prevention of diabetes itself, and with the progression of this disease, diabetes nephropathy as well…"