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Antioxidants
Special Issues
Carotenoids in Health and Disease
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Carotenoids in Health and Disease

A special issue of Antioxidants (ISSN 2076-3921). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural and Synthetic Antioxidants".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 August 2026 | Viewed by 23660

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Kazutoshi Shindo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Food and Nutrition, Japan Women’s University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8681, Japan
Interests: functional carotenoids

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are molecules containing at least one oxygen atom and one or more unpaired electrons and can exist independently. Additionally, ROS include oxygen-free radicals, such as superoxide anion radicals, hydroxyl radicals, hydroperoxyl radicals, singlet oxygen, and free nitrogen radicals. Under physiological conditions, small quantities of ROS form mainly in hepatocytes and macrophages during normal cell processes, such as aerobic respiration, or inflammatory processes, and damage important biomolecules, such as lipids, proteins, and DNA. Over time, this damage significantly contributes to aging and the development of several conditions, such as autoimmune diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, various types of cancers, diabetes mellitus-related complications, stroke, heart attacks, pain, and inflammation. Considering antioxidant intake may help prevent ROS-mediated cellular damage and diseases, I am conducting research focusing on carotenoids as antioxidants. In this Special Issue, I invite reports on new antioxidant carotenoids or known carotenoids with new antioxidant functions.

Dr. Kazutoshi Shindo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antioxidants is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • antioxidant activities of carotenoids
  • analytical chemistry on carotenoids
  • reactive oxygen species (ROS) and disease
  • production of carotenoids

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1894 KB  
Article
Heterologous Production of 2,2′-Dihydroxy Derivatives of Astaxanthin and Adonirubin in Escherichia coli and Evaluation of Their Antioxidant Activity
by Rika Sekine, Miho Takemura, Misato Nagamori, Norihiko Misawa and Kazutoshi Shindo
Antioxidants 2026, 15(3), 327; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox15030327 - 5 Mar 2026
Viewed by 634
Abstract
Astaxanthin is a prominent carotenoid with strong antioxidant activity due to its 13 conjugated double bonds and its 3,3′-hydroxy groups adjacent to its 4,4′-carbonyl groups. This red pigment is utilized as a food additive and nutritional supplement, and it also has applications in [...] Read more.
Astaxanthin is a prominent carotenoid with strong antioxidant activity due to its 13 conjugated double bonds and its 3,3′-hydroxy groups adjacent to its 4,4′-carbonyl groups. This red pigment is utilized as a food additive and nutritional supplement, and it also has applications in cosmetics. But the extremely low water solubility of astaxanthin limits its broader commercial application. In order to decrease the hydrophobic property of astaxanthin, we produced 2,2′-dihydroxy derivatives of astaxanthin and its intermediate adonirubin, (2R,3S,2′R,3′S)-2,2′-dihydroxyastaxanthin (1) and (2R,3S,2′R)-2,2′-dihydoxyadonirubin (2), in the cells of Escherichia coli as dominant carotenoids. This result was achieved by using the crtG gene that codes for zeaxanthin/canthaxanthin/astaxanthin 2,2′-hydroxylase, derived from Brevundimonas sp. strain SD212, in addition to astaxanthin biosynthesis genes that carry the Haematococcus pluvialis IDI, Pantoea ananatis crtE, crtB, crtI, crtY, crtZ, and Paracoccus sp. N81106 crtW genes. The singlet oxygen-quenching activities of 1 and 2 (IC50 4.3 μM and 8.3 μM, respectively) were examined and found to be comparable to that of astaxanthin (IC50 1.7 μM). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carotenoids in Health and Disease)
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23 pages, 15760 KB  
Article
Dietary Lycopene Mitigates Reproductive Impairment in Heat-Stressed Rongchang Boars: Roles of Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory and Nrf2 Pathway
by Ying Lei, Hanxin Liu, Qiujin Xiang, Ying Liu, De Wu, Junjie Zhang and Yan Lin
Antioxidants 2026, 15(2), 245; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox15020245 - 13 Feb 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 783
Abstract
Heat stress (HS) severely impairs boar reproductive function by inducing oxidative stress and inflammatory responses, while lycopene (LYC), as a potent antioxidant, exerts a potential protective effect on the male reproductive system. This study aimed to clarify the mechanism underlying LYC-mediated alleviation of [...] Read more.
Heat stress (HS) severely impairs boar reproductive function by inducing oxidative stress and inflammatory responses, while lycopene (LYC), as a potent antioxidant, exerts a potential protective effect on the male reproductive system. This study aimed to clarify the mechanism underlying LYC-mediated alleviation of HS-induced decline in semen quality in Rongchang boars, identify the most affected tissues, and explore its regulatory role in the Nrf2 (Nuclear factor E2-related factor 2) pathway. A total of 18 Rongchang boars with an initial body weight of 15.81 ± 1.07 kg were randomly assigned to three groups (6 boars per group): the control group (CON, 26 ± 1 °C), the heat stress group (HS, exposed to 35 ± 1 °C for 8 h daily), and the heat stress + 100 mg/kg lycopene group (HS + LYC). After 28 days of adaptive feeding and 14 days of HS treatment, samples were collected for semen quality analysis, testicular histological analysis, antioxidant index detection, transcriptome analysis, Nrf2 pathway detection, and inflammatory index detection. The results showed that HS significantly increased the sperm abnormality rate (p < 0.05), damaged the testicular structure, and induced oxidative stress in serum, lung, liver, left ventricle, testis, and epididymis (caput epididymis, corpus epididymis, cauda epididymis), with varying degrees of oxidative stress observed in these samples. Among these tissues, the testis and cauda epididymis exhibited the most significant responses to HS and LYC, with the comprehensive impact magnitudes of 317% and 514%, respectively. Enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in these two tissues revealed that the pathways mediating oxidative stress response displayed distinct tissue specificity, and all of them were closely associated with the Nrf2 antioxidant signaling pathway. HS significantly downregulated the mRNA expressions of Nrf2, Quinone Oxidoreductase (NQO1), Heme Oxygenase 1 (HMOX1) and Glutamate-Cysteine Ligase Catalytic Subunit (GCLC) genes as well as the protein level of Nrf2 in the testis and cauda epididymis, increased the protein level of Keap1, and significantly elevated the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in these two tissues (p < 0.05). Compared with the HS group, dietary supplementation of LYC significantly improved sperm motility and the proportion of rapidly progressive sperm, reduced the proportion of immotile sperm and sperm abnormality rate (p < 0.05), alleviated testicular damage and oxidative stress in various tissues, upregulated the mRNA expressions of Nrf2 and HMOX1 genes in the testis as well as the mRNA expressions of Nrf2, NQO1, HMOX1 and GCLC genes in cauda epididymis (p < 0.05), significantly increased the Nrf2 protein level and decreased the Keap1 protein level in these two tissues, and simultaneously decreased the levels of the aforementioned inflammatory factors (p < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary supplementation with 100 mg/kg LYC can alleviate HS-induced decline in semen quality and testicular damage by regulating the oxidative status and inflammatory level of relevant tissues (e.g., testis and cauda epididymis) in boars, and this protective effect may be associated with the regulation of the Nrf2 signaling pathway. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carotenoids in Health and Disease)
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19 pages, 2797 KB  
Article
Aster-B Modulates Oxidative Stress Responses and Carotenoid Distribution in ARPE-19 Cells
by Vidya Gopakumar and Johannes von Lintig
Antioxidants 2025, 14(5), 575; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox14050575 - 10 May 2025
Viewed by 7568
Abstract
Lipid metabolism and oxidative stress are major contributors to ocular diseases, including drusen formation and photoreceptor damage. Aster-B, encoded by GRAMD1B, mediates the non-vesicular transport of cholesterol and carotenoids and is highly expressed in the human eye, though its specific ocular functions [...] Read more.
Lipid metabolism and oxidative stress are major contributors to ocular diseases, including drusen formation and photoreceptor damage. Aster-B, encoded by GRAMD1B, mediates the non-vesicular transport of cholesterol and carotenoids and is highly expressed in the human eye, though its specific ocular functions remain unknown. We investigated Aster-B’s role in ARPE-19 cells, a model of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), using CRISPR/dCas9 to generate an Aster-B-expressing cell line. Aster-B expression significantly improved cell survival under oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and was associated with the activation of the p53 and TGFβ signaling pathways, indicating a role in modulating stress responses. To confirm its lipid transport activity, we treated cholesterol-depleted cells with carotenoids and tracked their localization. In Aster-B-expressing cells, carotenoids accumulated in mitochondria, while in control cells, they remained in other cellular compartments. Under oxidative stress, mitochondrial carotenoid levels declined in Aster-B-expressing cells but not in control cells. Interestingly, carotenoids enhanced survival in control cells exposed to H2O2 but had a detrimental effect in Aster-B-expressing cells, suggesting that carotenoid function is context and location dependent. These findings highlight Aster-B’s role in coordinating lipid transport and stress responses in the RPE, with implications for oxidative stress-related eye diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carotenoids in Health and Disease)
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Review

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24 pages, 1355 KB  
Review
Carotenoids and Their Interaction with the Immune System
by Miguel Medina-García, Andrés Baeza-Morales, Pascual Martínez-Peinado, Sandra Pascual-García, Carolina Pujalte-Satorre, Rosa María Martínez-Espinosa and José Miguel Sempere-Ortells
Antioxidants 2025, 14(9), 1111; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox14091111 - 12 Sep 2025
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3863
Abstract
Carotenoids are lipophilic pigments naturally occurring in plants and, to a lesser extent, in certain non-photosynthetic organisms. They play a critical role in human health due to their antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties. Key carotenoids such as β-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin are capable [...] Read more.
Carotenoids are lipophilic pigments naturally occurring in plants and, to a lesser extent, in certain non-photosynthetic organisms. They play a critical role in human health due to their antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties. Key carotenoids such as β-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin are capable of neutralizing reactive oxygen species, thereby mitigating oxidative stress—a major contributor to the onset and progression of chronic diseases. These compounds also modulate immune responses by influencing lymphocyte proliferation, enhancing natural killer cell activity, and regulating the production of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Such immunomodulatory effects are associated with a reduced risk of infectious diseases and have shown potential protective roles against inflammatory conditions, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders, and certain types of cancer. Moreover, diets rich in carotenoids are linked to improved immune status, particularly in vulnerable populations such as the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Despite strong epidemiological evidence, clinical trials involving carotenoid supplementation have produced mixed results, indicating that their effectiveness may depend on the broader dietary context and interactions with other nutrients. In summary, carotenoids are important dietary compounds that contribute to immune regulation and the prevention of various diseases, although further clinical research is needed to determine optimal intake levels and assess their full therapeutic potential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carotenoids in Health and Disease)
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24 pages, 993 KB  
Review
Astaxanthin: A Compound in the Prevention of Chronic Diseases and as a Potential Adjuvant Treatment Agent
by Xiao Zhu, Xi Chen, Matthew Wang and Honghua Hu
Antioxidants 2025, 14(6), 715; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox14060715 - 12 Jun 2025
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 9804
Abstract
Astaxanthin (AST) is a fat-soluble carotenoid antioxidant. AST exhibits multiple protective mechanisms, including its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti-apoptotic, nervous system-protective, anti-tumor, and anti-fibrotic effects. These effects make it a promising compound for the prevention of chronic diseases. AST can protect the nervous system [...] Read more.
Astaxanthin (AST) is a fat-soluble carotenoid antioxidant. AST exhibits multiple protective mechanisms, including its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti-apoptotic, nervous system-protective, anti-tumor, and anti-fibrotic effects. These effects make it a promising compound for the prevention of chronic diseases. AST can protect the nervous system against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. It also protects the liver and helps reduce the risk of chronic kidney disease. Additionally, it improves cardiovascular health and has anti-diabetic properties. This review aims to provide an updated overview covering the protective effects of AST against various chronic diseases, including its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects. We also discuss the strategies used for improving astaxanthin bioavailability and its potential as an adjuvant therapeutic agent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carotenoids in Health and Disease)
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