Table 2.
Uptake and relative distribution percentages of astaxanthin in whole leukocytes and subcellular fractions in cats fed 0, 0.02, 0.08, 0.4, 2, 5 or 10 mg astaxanthin daily for 15d
| Treatment (mg astaxanthin/cat/d) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0.02 | 0.08 | 0.4 | 2 | 5 | 10 | |
| Day 6 | |||||||
| Whole leukocyte (nmol astaxanthin/108 cells) | |||||||
| nd | nd | nd | 52 ± 0* | 222 ± 76* | 339 ± 75* | 687 ± 29* | |
| Subcellular fraction (% of whole leukocyte) | |||||||
| Nuclei | nd | nd | nd | 40 | 40 | 28 | 23 |
| Mitochondria | nd | nd | nd | 60 | 41 | 44 | 50 |
| Microsome | nd | nd | nd | nd | 19 | 14 | 14 |
| Cytosol | nd | nd | nd | nd | nd | 14 | 13 |
| Day 15 | |||||||
| Whole leukocyte (nmol astaxanthin/108 cells) | |||||||
| nd | 44 ± 0* | 49 ± 0* | 84 ± 3* | 169 ± 33* | 357 ± 56* | 468 ± 36* | |
| Subcellular fraction (% of whole leukocyte) | |||||||
| Nuclei | nd | nd | nd | 36 | 21 | 24 | 17 |
| Mitochondria | nd | nd | 39 | 33 | 40 | 45 | 49 |
| Microsome | nd | 46 | 31 | 16 | 20 | 15 | 18 |
| Cytosol | nd | 54 | 30 | 16 | 20 | 16 | 15 |
Total leukocyte values are means ± SEM (n = 8) as analyzed by repeated measures ANOVA.
*Means within a row are significantly different from unsupplemented animals (P < 0.05).