Constructing of astaxanthin-loaded microalgal motor and its effect on ameliorating chronic colitis involving in oxidative stress, gut microbiota, and intestinal barrier.

Authors

Hongyan Li, Xinwei Gong, Huiru Li, Chuqiao Zhang, Lu Yang, Hongxia Che, Yuchao Gu

Published in

Marine life science & technology. Volume 8. Issue 3. Pages 783-797. Epub Jul 28, 2026.

Abstract

Chitosan-astaxanthin nanoparticles (CS-ASTNPs) exhibited an anti-colitis activity, but their poor mobility restricts anti-inflammatory efficacy. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (C. reinhardtii) was employed to load CS-ASTNPs to construct astaxanthin-loaded microalgal motors (CS-AST@CR). The particle size of CS-AST@CR was 4.2 ± 0.21 μm and its swimming speed was 89.3 ± 4.4 µm/s, which was slower than native C. reinhardtii (117.2 ± 2.7 µm/s), though their movement trajectories remained comparable. Compared to CS-ASTNPs, CS-AST@CR notably alleviated chronic colitis symptoms. It enhanced colon barrier function by promoting ZO-1, occludin, and MUC2 expression. Furthermore, CS-AST@CR markedly reduced TNF-α, IL-1β, and NLRP3 inflammasome production while increasing IL-10 levels. The oxidative response was effectively suppressed via activating the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway. Additionally, CS-AST@CR significantly increased Lactobacillus and Enterorhabdus abundance; whereas, CS-ASTNPs elevated Akkermansia and Bifidobacteriaceae richness. Collectively, CS-AST@CR integrated the advantages of microalgal motility and nanoparticle functionality, showing great potential for development as functional foods or therapeutic agents for colitis treatment.

PMID:
42668715
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 30 Aug 2026.

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