Protective Effect of Astaxanthin on Liver Fibrosis through Modulation of TGF-1 Expression and Autophagy

Figure 1

Effect of astaxanthin on CCL4-induced liver fibrosis. (a) Astaxanthin decreased the level of ALT, AST, and hydroxyproline with the doses of 40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg. Data are expressed as mean ± SD (𝑛=7, ^∗𝑃<0.05 for CCL4 + AST(40) versus CCL4, ^#𝑃<0.05 for CCL4 + AST(80) versus CCL4). (b) Astaxanthin (40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg) ameliorated pathological change showed by H&E, Masson’s trichrome (MT), and sirius red staining (original magnification: ×200). (c) The areas of positive staining with MT and SR were analyzed by Image-pro Plus 6.0. There existed a significant decrease with astaxanthin (40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg) treatment (𝑛=7, ^∗𝑃<0.05 for CCL4 + AST(40) versus CCL4, ^#𝑃<0.05 for CCL4 + AST(80) versus CCL4).

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