Khan_2025_Sci.Rep_15_33803

Neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease (AD), represent a significant public health challenge due to their increasing prevalence and the lack of effective treatments. In this study, we explored the neuroprotective effects of beta-carotene, a naturally occurring carotenoid, by investigating its ability to inhibit or reduce apoptosis and inflammation while enhancing antioxidant potential in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Beta-carotene was extracted from Chlorella vulgaris using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We utilized SH-SY5Y cells, a widely employed in vitro model for studying neurodegenerative processes, to evaluate these therapeutic effects. A combination of colorimetric assays, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to assess the impact of beta-carotene on enzyme activity, cytokine production, and gene expression. The caspase assay results demonstrated that beta-carotene effectively reduced the activity of pro-apoptotic caspases and downregulated the expression of pro-apoptotic genes such as Bax, Bak and caspases, thereby inhibiting apoptosis in SH-SY5Y cells. Additionally, beta-carotene exhibited potent antioxidant properties by upregulating NRF2 and superoxide dismutase (SOD), along with enhancing ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activities.showed antiinflamatory effects reduce the concentrations of proinflamatory cytokines TNFalpha, IL-1 beta and IFN-gamma, and supress the inflamtion patway by supressing the expression of Akt, PIK3, STAT1 and NF-kB, Akt etc. Importantly, beta-carotene treatment led to the suppression of beta-secretase (BACE1), gamma-secretase and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities, and the downregulation of genes involved in amyloid-beta production, including BACE1, and PECN1 eventualy resulted in dcerase concentration o Abeta peptides. These findings suggest that beta-carotene could be a promising therapeutic candidate for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease, however further investigations are recomended in animal models and clinical trials before incorporating beta-cerotene into pharmaceutical formulations for AD treatment.