Título

BETA-CAROTENE SUPPLEMENTATION ON RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIAL CELLS: EFFECTS IN VISUAL HEALTH

Introdução / Purpose

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of blindness in the world. AMD has a chronic progressive course and may require lifelong observation and therapy, becoming a socioeconomic problem. Some studies bring evidence of extensive decline on life quality and increased daily care for patients, especially due to the decrease in vision quality and progression to blindness. Important advances for the understanding of AMD pathogenesis are focusing on the harmful role of oxidative damage into the retina. However, literature data also suggest that bioactive molecules present in functional foods could prevent the progress of AMD. This investigation aimed to evaluate the effect of beta-carotene supplementation on retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE), an in vitro model for AMD.

Material e Método / Methods

Cells were purchased from the Cell Bank (BCRJ) and maintained at 37ºC in a CO2 incubator with 5% of CO2 saturation. Cells were cultured with Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) and exposed to beta-carotene at the concentrations of 5, 25 and 75 mg/mL for 24h. After exposed, cell viability and oxidative stress indicators assessment were performed using MTT, Nitric oxide and Dichlorofluorescein assays. All experiments were conducted in triplicate. Data were expressed as percentage of the control group and statistically analyzed with one-way analyses of variance followed by Tukey’s post hoc test using the software Graphpad Prism version 5.0 (Graphpad Prism Software Company, 2014). Results with p ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant

Resultados / Results

Results showed that all beta-carotene concentrations increased the viability of RPE cells and did not increase oxidative stress indicators. Particularly, beta-carotene at 25mg/mL decreased the levels of reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide.

Discussão e Conclusões / Discussion

Therefore, the results suggest that beta-carotene itself and foods with high quantities of this bioactive molecule could help in the treatment and visual quality of patients affected by AMD.

Palavras Chave

Beta-carotene. Functional foods. AMD.