ABSTRACT
It has been postulated that increased oxidative stress by high glucose concentrations in the blood is important in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. Studies using natural and synthetic antioxidants, such as N-acetyl-L-cysteine, vitamins C and E, α-lipoic acid, taurine, and probucol, have provided convincing evidence that glomerular hypertrophy and the accumulation of collagen and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) due to high glucose concentrations are largely mediated
by reactive oxygen species [1-4]. Therefore, it is thought that such studies might provide further insight into therapeutic strategies for treating patients with diabetes mellitus. In this review, we summarize the function of astaxanthin and present our recent results obtained from a nutrigenomics approach in order to investigate the benefi cial effect of astaxanthin on diabetic nephropathy.
