Protective effect of EPX on phototoxicity induced by blue light in A2E-laden ARPE-19 cells. (A) Treatment schedule of A2E and EPX. A2E—Bis-retinoid N-retinylidene-N-retinylethanolamine; EPX—eggplant extract; BL—blue light. (B,C) Protection of retinal cells by EPX. ARPE-19 cells were treated with fresh A2E (20 μM) every 2 days for a period of 6 days and then exposed twice to vehicle (DMSO) or EPX (25 μg/mL) for 48 h. Next, the cells were exposed to blue light (BL, 430 nm, 8000 lux) for 30 min. After incubation for 24 h, cell viability was visualized using an inverted phase-contrast microscope (B) and measured using EZ-Cytox (C). CTR—control; DMSO—dimethyl sulfoxide; +—sample treatment. The results are presented as the mean ± S.D. (n = 3); * p < 0.05. (D) Viability of ARPE-19 cells treated with EPX (50 to 500 μg/mL) for 24 h.