The natural antioxidant astaxanthin (AST) demonstrates the cardioprotective effect on cardiac mitochondria in rats subjected to chronic alcohol intoxication. Particularly, AST restored cardiac mitochondrial respiratory activity and Ca2+ capacity of rats exposed to chronic alcohol intoxication; it also had a positive impact on the balance of functionally important processes of mitochondrial fission/fusion, as well as mitophagy. In addition, AST prevented alcohol-induced morphological damage to cardiac tissue. Overall, the results demonstrate that AST promotes normalization of cardiac mitochondrial function, protecting these organelles from degenerative changes caused by alcohol intoxication and improving cardiac energy metabolism. Thus, AST helps to compensate the cardiac mitochondrial damage caused by chronic alcohol intake by restoring their functional activity and stress resistance.
Krestinina O.V. et al. Astaxanthin protects heart mitochondria from damage caused by chronic alcohol intoxication // Biomeditsinskaya Khimiya. - 2026. - V. 72. -N 1. - P. 28-41.
Krestinina O.V. et al., "Astaxanthin protects heart mitochondria from damage caused by chronic alcohol intoxication." Biomeditsinskaya Khimiya 72.1 (2026): 28-41.
Krestinina, O. V., Odinokova, I. V., Zvyagina, A. I., Sotnikov, R. R., Sotnikova, L. D., Baburina, Yu. L. (2026). Astaxanthin protects heart mitochondria from damage caused by chronic alcohol intoxication. Biomeditsinskaya Khimiya, 72(1), 28-41.
References
Fernandez-Sola J. (2015) Cardiovascular risks and benefits of moderate and heavy alcohol consumption. Nat. Rev. Cardiol., 12(10), 576–587. CrossRef Scholar google search
Gavazzi A., de Maria R., Parolini M., Porcu M. (2000) Alcohol abuse and dilated cardiomyopathy in men. Am. J. Cardiol., 85(9), 1114–1118. CrossRef Scholar google search
Waddell J., McKenna M.C., Kristian T. (2022) Brain ethanol metabolism and mitochondria. Curr. Top. Biochem. Res., 23, 1–13. Scholar google search
Kraus F., Roy K., Pucadyil T.J., Ryan M.T. (2021) Function and regulation of the divisome for mitochondrial fission. Nature, 590(7844), 57–66. CrossRef Scholar google search
van der Bliek A.M., Shen Q., Kawajiri S. (2013) Mechanisms of mitochondrial fission and fusion. Cold Spring Harb. Perspect Biol., 5(6), a011072. CrossRef Scholar google search
Bonet-Ponce L., Saez-Atienzar S., da Casa C., Flores-Bellver M., Barcia J.M., Sancho-Pelluz J., Romero F.J., Jordan J., Galindo M.F. (2015) On the mechanism underlying ethanol-induced mitochondrial dynamic disruption and autophagy response. Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 1852(7), 1400–1409. CrossRef Scholar google search
Kitagaki H., Araki Y., Funato K., Shimoi H. (2007) Ethanol-induced death in yeast exhibits features of apoptosis mediated by mitochondrial fission pathway. FEBS Lett., 581(16), 2935–2942. CrossRef Scholar google search
Krestinina O., Krestinin R., Odinokova I., Sotnikova L., Baburina Y. (2025) Potential targets for the protective effect of astaxanthin on ethanol-induced damage in rat liver mitochondria. Curr. Med. Chem., 32(7), 1391–1405. CrossRef Scholar google search
Krestinina O., Odinokova I., Sotnikova L., Krestinin R., Zvyagina A., Baburina Y. (2022) Astaxanthin is able to prevent alcohol-induced dysfunction of liver mitochondria. Antioxidants, 11(10), 2019. CrossRef Scholar google search
Truban D., Hou X., Caulfield T.R., Fiesel F.C., Springer W. (2017) PINK1, Parkin, and mitochondrial quality control: what can we learn about Parkinson's disease pathobiology? J. Parkinsons Dis., 7(1), 13–29. CrossRef Scholar google search
Eid N., Ito Y., Horibe A., Otsuki Y., Kondo Y. (2019) Ethanol-induced mitochondrial damage in Sertoli cells is associated with Parkin overexpression and activation of mitophagy. Cells, 8(3), 283. CrossRef Scholar google search
Wu Y., Jiang T., Hua J., Xiong Z., Dai K., Chen H., Li L., Peng J., Peng X., Zheng Z., Xiong W. (2022) PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy in cardiovascular disease: from pathogenesis to novel therapy. Int. J. Cardiol., 361, 61–69. CrossRef Scholar google search
Chacko B.K., Srivastava A., Johnson M.S., Benavides G.A., Chang M.J., Ye Y., Jhala N., Murphy M.P., Kalyanaraman B., Darley-Usmar V.M. (2011) Mitochondria-targeted ubiquinone (MitoQ) decreases ethanol-dependent micro and macro hepatosteatosis. Hepatology, 54(1), 153–163. CrossRef Scholar google search
Krestinin R., Baburina Y., Odinokova I., Kruglov A., Fadeeva I., Zvyagina A., Sotnikova L., Krestinina O. (2020) Isoproterenol-induced permeability transition pore-related dysfunction of heart mitochondria is attenuated by astaxanthin. Biomedicines, 8(10), 437. CrossRef Scholar google search
Krestinin R., Baburina Y., Odinokova I., Kruglov A., Sotnikova L., Krestinina O. (2023) The effect of astaxanthin on mitochondrial dynamics in rat heart mitochondria under ISO-induced injury. Antioxidants, 12(6), 1247. CrossRef Scholar google search
Krestinina O., Baburina Y., Krestinin R., Odinokova I., Fadeeva I., Sotnikova L. (2020) Astaxanthin prevents mitochondrial impairment induced by isoproterenol in isolated rat heart mitochondria. Antioxidants, 9(3), 262. CrossRef Scholar google search
Lieber C.S., de Carli L.M. (1989) Liquid diet technique of ethanol administration: 1989 update. Alcohol Alcohol., 24(3), 197–211. Scholar google search
Baburina Y., Krestinin R., Odinokova I., Sotnikova L., Kruglov A., Krestinina O. (2019) Astaxanthin inhibits mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening in rat heart mitochondria. Antioxidants, 8(12), 576. CrossRef Scholar google search
Lillie R.D., Fullmer H.M. (1976) Histopathologic Technic and Practical Histochemistry. McGraw-Hill: California, USA, 942 p. Scholar google search
Odinokova I., Baburina Y., Kruglov A., Fadeeva I., Zvyagina A., Sotnikova L., Akatov V., Krestinina O. (2018) Effect of melatonin on rat heart mitochondria in acute heart failure in aged rats. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 19(6), 1555. CrossRef Scholar google search
Kruger N.J. (1994) The Bradford method for protein quantitation. Methods Mol. Biol., 32, 9–15. CrossRef Scholar google search
Azarashvili T., Grachev D., Krestinina O., Evtodienko Y., Yurkov I., Papadopoulos V., Reiser G. (2007) The peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptor is involved in control of Ca2+-induced permeability transition pore opening in rat brain mitochondria. Cell Calcium, 42(1), 27–39. CrossRef Scholar google search
Sahu P., Verma H.K., Bhaskar L. (2025) Alcohol and alcoholism associated neurological disorders: current updates in a global perspective and recent recommendations. World J. Exp. Med., 15(1), 100402. CrossRef Scholar google search
Piano M.R., Marcus G.M., Aycock D.M., Buckman J., Hwang C.L., Larsson S.C., Mukamal K.J., Roerecke M. (2025) Alcohol use and cardiovascular disease: a scientific statement from the american heart association. Circulation, 152(1), e7–e21. CrossRef Scholar google search
Leon B.E., Kang S., Franca-Solomon G., Shang P., Choi D.-S. (2021) Alcohol-induced neuroinflammatory response and mitochondrial dysfunction on aging and Alzheimer's disease. Front. Behav. Neurosci., 15, 778456. CrossRef Scholar google search
Siggins R.W., McTernan P.M., Simon L., Souza-Smith F.M., Molina P.E. (2023) Mitochondrial dysfunction: at the nexus between alcohol-associated immunometabolic dysregulation and tissue injury. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 24(10), 8650. CrossRef Scholar google search
Hoek J.B., Cahill A., Pastorino J.G. (2002) Alcohol and mitochondria: a dysfunctional relationship. Gastroenterology, 122(7), 2049–2063. CrossRef Scholar google search
Lambert J.P., Luongo T.S., Tomar D., Jadiya P., Gao E., Zhang X., Lucchese A.M., Kolmetzky D.W., Shah N.S., Elrod J.W. (2019) MCUB regulates the molecular composition of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter channel to limit mitochondrial calcium overload during stress. Circulation, 140(21), 1720–1733. CrossRef Scholar google search
Zavodnik I.B. (2016) Mitochondria, calcium homeostasis and calcium signaling. Biomeditsinskaya Khimiya, 62(3), 311–317. CrossRef Scholar google search
Kumar A., Davuluri G., Welch N., Kim A., Gangadhariah M., Allawy A., Priyadarshini A., McMullen M.R., Sandlers Y., Willard B., Hoppel C.L., Nagy L.E., Dasarathy S. (2019) Oxidative stress mediates ethanol-induced skeletal muscle mitochondrial dysfunction and dysregulated protein synthesis and autophagy. Free Radic. Biol. Med., 145, 284–299. CrossRef Scholar google search
Ma L., Dong J.-X., Wu C., Li X.-Y., Chen J., Zhang H., Liu Y. (2017) Spectroscopic, polarographic, and microcalorimetric studies on mitochondrial dysfunction induced by ethanol. J. Membr. Biol., 250(2), 195–204. CrossRef Scholar google search
Zhao R.Z., Jiang S., Zhang L., Yu Z.B. (2019) Mitochondrial electron transport chain, ROS generation and uncoupling (review). Int. J. Mol. Med., 44(1), 3–15. CrossRef Scholar google search
Haorah J., Rump T.J., Xiong H. (2013) Reduction of brain mitochondrial β-oxidation impairs complex I and V in chronic alcohol intake: the underlying mechanism for neurodegeneration. PLOS One, 8(8), e70833. CrossRef Scholar google search
Hwang H., Liu R., Eldridge R., Hu X., Forghani P., Jones D.P., Xu C. (2023) Chronic ethanol exposure induces mitochondrial dysfunction and alters gene expression and metabolism in human cardiac spheroids. Alcohol Clin. Exp. Res., 47(4), 643–658. CrossRef Scholar google search
Simon L., Molina P.E. (2022) Cellular bioenergetics: experimental evidence for alcohol-induced adaptations. Function, 3(5), zqac039. CrossRef Scholar google search
Roy M., Reddy P.H., Iijima M., Sesaki H. (2015) Mitochondrial division and fusion in metabolism. Curr. Opin. Cell Biol., 33, 111–118. CrossRef Scholar google search
Schrepfer E., Scorrano L. (2016) Mitofusins, from mitochondria to metabolism. Mol. Cell, 61(5), 683–694. CrossRef Scholar google search
Detmer S.A., Chan D.C. (2007) Functions and dysfunctions of mitochondrial dynamics. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell. Biol., 8(11), 870–879. CrossRef Scholar google search
Yao C.-H., Wang R., Wang Y., Kung C.-P., Weber J.D., Patti G.J. (2019) Mitochondrial fusion supports increased oxidative phosphorylation during cell proliferation. Elife, 8, e41351. CrossRef Scholar google search
Shang P., Lindberg D., Starski P., Peyton L., Hong S.-I., Choi S., Choi D.-S. (2020) Chronic alcohol exposure induces aberrant mitochondrial morphology and inhibits respiratory capacity in the medial prefrontal cortex of mice. Front. Neurosci., 14, 561173. CrossRef Scholar google search
Wang S., Long H., Hou L., Feng B., Ma Z., Wu Y., Zeng Y., Cai J., Zhang D.-W., Zhao G. (2023) The mitophagy pathway and its implications in human diseases. Signal Transduct. Target Ther., 8(1), 304. CrossRef Scholar google search