Protective Effects of Oral Astaxanthin Nanopowder against Ultraviolet-Induced Photokeratitis in Mice

Figure 2

Comparison of protective effect of nano-AST, AST oil, lutein, and bilberry extract. (a) Morphological analysis of murine corneal tissue using H&E staining. Noticeable thinning and morphological and structural changes in epithelial cell layer with increased cellular infiltration of corneal stroma were observed in the UVB control, AST oil-, lutein-, and bilberry-treated groups. While thickness of corneal epithelial layer in nano-AST-treated animals was obviously thinner compared to naïve nonirradiated corneas, cellular morphology and epithelial layer structure are well preserved. Scale bar: 30 μm. (b) Nano-AST (50 mg/kg) treatment resulted in significant thicker corneal epithelium compared to the UVB controls (), AST oil (), lutein (), and bilberry extract () treatment. (eyes) per group. n.s., ; ; ; .

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