Astaxanthin induces autophagy and apoptosis in murine melanoma B16F10-Nex2 cells and exhibits antitumor activity .

Countless efforts have been made to prevent and suppress the formation and spread of melanoma. Natural astaxanthin (AST; extracted from the alga ) showed an antitumor effect on various cancer cell lines due to its interaction with the cell membrane. This study aimed to characterize the antitumor effect of AST against B16F10-Nex2 murine melanoma cells using cell viability assay and evaluate its mechanism of action using electron microscopy, western blotting analysis, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) assay, and mitochondrial membrane potential determination.