Abstract:
Zeaxanthin dipalmitate (ZD) is a chemical extracted from wolfberry that protects degenerated photoreceptors in mouse retina. However, the pure ZD is expensive and hard to produce. In this study, we developed a method to enrich ZD from wolfberry on a production line and examined whether it may also protect the degenerated mouse retina. The ZD-enriched wolfberry extract (ZDE) was extracted from wolfberry by organic solvent method, and the concentration of ZD was identified by HPLC. The adult C57BL/6 mice were treated with ZDE or solvent by daily gavage for 2 weeks, at the end of the first week the animals were intraperitoneally injected with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea to induce photoreceptor degeneration. Then optomotor, electroretinogram, and immunostaining were used to test the visual behavior, retinal light responses, and structure. The final ZDE product contained ~30mg/g ZD, which was over 9 times higher than that from the dry fruit of wolfberry. Feeding degenerated mice with ZDE significantly improved the survival of photoreceptors, enhanced the retinal light responses and the visual acuity. Therefore, our ZDE product successfully alleviated retinal morphological and functional degeneration in mouse retina, which may provide a basis for further animal studies for possible applying ZDE as a supplement to treat degenerated photoreceptor in the clinic.
摘要:
玉米黄质二棕榈酸酯(ZD)是一种从枸杞中提取的化学物质,可保护小鼠视网膜中退化的光感受器。然而,纯ZD价格昂贵且难以生产。在这项研究中,我们开发了一种在生产线上从枸杞中富集ZD的方法,并检查了它是否也可以保护退化的小鼠视网膜。采用有机溶剂法提取枸杞中富含ZD的枸杞提取物(ZDE),并通过HPLC鉴定ZD的浓度。成年C57BL/6小鼠用ZDE或溶剂每日灌胃2周,在第一周结束时,对动物腹膜内注射N-甲基-N-亚硝基脲以诱导光感受器变性。然后验光,视网膜电图,免疫染色用于测试视觉行为,视网膜光的反应,和结构。最终的ZDE产品含有〜30mg/gZD,比枸杞干果高9倍以上。用ZDE喂养变性小鼠可显着提高光感受器的存活率,增强视网膜光反应和视力。因此,我们的ZDE产品成功缓解了小鼠视网膜的视网膜形态和功能变性,这可能为进一步的动物研究提供基础,以可能在临床上应用ZDE作为补充剂来治疗变性的光感受器。