A Randomised Controlled Trial: The effect of oral astaxanthin as an anti-inflammatory agent on serum level of e-selectin in acne vulgaris

Abstract

Background: E-selectin plays a pivotal role in the inflammatory response of acne. Astaxanthin (AST), an supplement claimed having anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, has potential in inflammatory skin therapy. This study aims to determine the effect of oral AST as an anti-inflammatory agent on the serum level of e-selectin in acne vulgaris. Methods: This is a double-blind, randomized controlled trial study with a pretest and posttest control group design. The participants were 34 acne vulgaris patients with inflammatory lesions (papulopustular acne). The participants are randomly assigned to the treatment or control group to receive oral tablet of 4 mg of AST or placebo in addition to standard acne therapy of tretinoin cream 0.025% and clindamycin cream 1.2%. Each group was measured for the serum level of E-selectin before therapy (pretest) and after one month of therapy (posttest). Results: The pretest and posttest level of the mean serum e-selectin in the treatment  group were 50.21 ± 21.12 ng/ml and 50.04 ± 22.99 ng/ml, respectively. There is no significant difference between the pretest and posttest of the mean e-selectin level in the treatment group (p=0.943). While, the pretest and posttest of mean serum e-selectin level in control group were 57.84 ± 20.71 ng/ml and 55.87 ± 15.98 ng/ml, respectively. There is no significant difference between the pretest and posttest of the mean e-selectin level in the control group (p=0.453). There was a decrease in the mean serum e-selectin level of the treatment and control groups one month after therapy. However, the decrease of the mean e-selectin level between treatment and control group is not significantly different (p=0.547).Conclusion: The addition of oral AST to standard acne therapy shows no significant difference in reducing the serum e-selectin level compared to placebo.