Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of mortality and permanent neurological impairment, making it a major worldwide health concern. The current dearth of potent neuroprotective pharmacotherapies exacerbates this issue. Astaxanthin, a natural carotenoid with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, has emerged as a promising therapeutic candidate. This systematic review aims to consolidate and critically evaluate preclinical evidence of astaxanthin’s efficacy in experimental TBI models. A comprehensive search of PubMed and Scopus databases was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, resulting in the inclusion of six studies. This review consistently shows that astaxanthin treatment significantly improves neurological, motor, and cognitive function after TBI. Astaxanthin targets several pathways of the secondary damage cascade and has pleiotropic effects. It decreases neuroinflammation by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway, lowers cerebral edema by downregulating the expression of AQP4 and NKCC1 channels, and mitigates oxidative stress and apoptosis by activating the SIRT1/Nrf2/Prx2 signaling axis. Moreover, by raising BDNF and synaptic protein levels, astaxanthin facilitates neurorestoration. Overall, this review found that astaxanthin is a multi-target neuroprotective agent with great potential that needs to be thoroughly studied in a variety of preclinical models.
Sumartha et al. (Thu,) studied this question.