Abstract

Excessive exposure to high-energy visible blue light has emerged as an important environmental risk factor for retinal damage by inducing oxidative stress, inflammation, angiogenesis, apoptosis, and photoreceptor degeneration. Anthocyanins possess potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and may provide nutritional protection against blue light-induced retinal injury. This study investigated the retinoprotective efficacy of NS2130E03, a standardized anthocyanin-rich hydroalcoholic extract of Daucus carota subsp. sativus (≥4.89% anthocyanins), against blue light-induced retinal damage in mice. Male BALB/c mice were randomly assigned to five groups (n=8/group): normal control, blue light-induced pathological control, and NS2130E03-treated groups receiving 50, 150, or 500mg/kg/day orally. Animals were pre-treated for 7 days, exposed to blue light (10,000 lux, 1h/day) for 2 weeks while continuing treatment, followed by an additional 2 weeks of treatment. Retinal antioxidant biomarkers (SOD, CAT, GPx, and TAC), inflammatory mediators (IL-6, TNF-α, and COX-2), angiogenic marker (VEGF), apoptotic marker (caspase-3), photoreceptor marker (rhodopsin), and retinal histopathology were evaluated.

Blue light exposure significantly impaired retinal antioxidant defence, increased inflammatory cytokines, COX-2, VEGF, and caspase-3, reduced rhodopsin expression, and induced marked retinal thinning and histopathological degeneration. NS2130E03 significantly ameliorated these pathological alterations in a dose-dependent manner. The 500mg/kg dose produced the greatest efficacy by restoring antioxidant enzyme activities, suppressing inflammatory and angiogenic mediators, reducing apoptosis, preserving rhodopsin expression, and maintaining retinal architecture, with retinal layer thickness approaching normal values. NS2130E03 effectively protected against blue light-induced retinal degeneration through coordinated attenuation of oxidative stress, inflammation, angiogenesis, and apoptosis while preserving photoreceptor integrity and retinal morphology. These findings suggest that standardized anthocyaninrich Daucus carota extract is a promising nutritional intervention for preventing retinal damage associated with chronic blue light exposure and warrants further mechanistic and clinical investigation.

Keywords:NS2130E03; Daucus carota; Anthocyanins; Blue light; Retinal degeneration; Oxidative stress; Inflammation; VEGF; Rhodopsin; Apoptosis

Abbreviations: AMD: Age-related Macular Degeneration; ANOVA: One-Way Analysis of Variance; BL: Blue Light; CAT: Catalase; COX-2: Cyclooxygenase-2; GPx: Glutathione Peroxidase; H/E: Hematoxylin and Eosin; IL-6: Interleukin-6; INL: Inner Nuclear Layer; LED: Light Emitting Diode; MAPK: Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase; NF-κB: Nuclear Factor-kappa B; Nrf2: Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2; ONL: Outer Nuclear Layer; PSL: Photoreceptor Segment Layer; RPE: Retinal Pigment Epithelium; ROS: Reactive Oxygen Species; SOD: Superoxide Dismutase; TAC: Total Antioxidant Capacity; TNF-α: Tumor Necrosis Factor-α; VEGF: Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor