Figure 5.

Lutein shows anti-inflammatory effect: downregulation of NF-κB and COX-2 and inflammatory cytokines. A – Protein expression of NF-κB and COX-2 was analyzed through western blot analysis. Results were expressed as mean ± SEM. Densitometric analysis shows significant upregulation of NF-κb and COX-2 expression in MIA treatment group. Lutein pre-treatment downregulated the inflammatory proteins compared to MIA treatment. B – MIA treatment showed significant upregulation of IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α in the MIA treatment group. Lutein pre-treatment downregulated the inflammatory cytokines compared to MIA treatment. ***p < 0.001 when compared to control group. +++p < 0.001 when compared to MIA treatment. NS – non-significant compared to control group