Astaxanthin improves fatty acid dysregulation in diabetes by controlling the AMPK-SIRT1 pathway

Due to the rising prevalence of metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes (T2DM), new prevention and treatment strategies are needed. The aim was to examine the effect of astaxanthin (AST) on the major regulatory metabolism pathway SIRT-MAPK and fatty acid (FA) profile of plasma in patients with T2DM. This clinical trial included 68 T2DM patients randomly assigned to receive 10 mg/day of oral AST (n = 34) or placebo (n = 33) for 12 weeks. The expression level of SIRT1, AMPK activity, and the level of fatty acids in the serum were examined. The results showed that AST could modify the serum levels of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), particularly that of Arachidonic acid, from 11.31±0.35 to 8.52±0.72 %. Also, AST increased the expression and activity levels of SIRT1 and AMPK, respectively. Pearson analysis also revealed a significant association between AMPK activity and Linoleic acid serum (LA) levels (~ -0.604, p~0.013). AST can modify the FA profile of plasma by inducing metabolizing cells to uptake them. Also, it can activate the SIRT-AMPK pathway related to metabolism regulation. See also Figure 1(Fig. 1).