Several antitumour drugs have been isolated from natural products and many clinical trials are underway to evaluate their potential. There have been numerous reports about the antitumour effects of astaxanthin against several tumours but no studies into its effects against glioblastoma. Astaxanthin is a red pigment found in crustaceans and fish and is also synthesized in Haematococcus pluvialis; adonixanthin is an intermediate product of astaxanthin. It is known that both astaxanthin and adonixanthin possess radical scavenging activity and can confer a protective effect on several damages. In this study, we clarified the antitumour effects of astaxanthin and adonixanthin using glioblastoma models. Specifically, astaxanthin and adonixanthin showed an ability to suppress cell proliferation and migration in three types of glioblastoma cells. Furthermore, these compounds were confirmed to transfer to the brain in a murine model. In the murine orthotopic glioblastoma model, glioblastoma progression was suppressed by the oral administration of astaxanthin and adonixanthin at 10 and 30 mg/kg, respectively, for 10 days. These results suggest that both astaxanthin and adonixanthin have potential as treatments for glioblastoma.
Keywords: brain; cancer; oral administration; paracoccsu carotinifaciens; xanthophyll carotenoid.