Astaxanthin ameliorates Cr (VI) accumulation, antioxidant, digestive, apoptosis and inflammatory response

Exposure to Cr (VI) can induce various adverse effects such as oxidative stress and inflammatory response in fish. Astaxanthin have been documented as a novel antioxidant and heavy metal antidote. This study was investigated potential protective effect of astaxanthin on Cr (VI) accumulation, antioxidant, digestive enzyme, glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-regulated inflammatory response and apoptosis in snakehead fish (Channa argus). In this study, 300 C. argus were randomly divided into three groups. The fish were exposed to waterborne Cr(VI) and/or dietary astaxanthin for 28 days. The results provided evidences that astaxanthin could inhibit Cr (VI) bioaccumulation, inflammatory response and apoptosis. Additionally, astaxanthin also exerted protective effects by increasing the activity of antioxidant, digestive enzymes and GR-related genes expression levels. Overall, our results suggest that administration of 100 mg/kg astaxanthin has the potential to combat Cr (VI) toxicity, antioxidant, digestive, anti-apoptosis.