Fig. 1

Astaxanthin (ATX) rescues the body weight loss and the organ index changes caused by total body irradiation (TBI) in mice. Mice were randomly divided into five groups and were administered either DMSO or different concentrations of ATX by gavage for 3 days before exposure to 4 Gy TBI and then continuously for 7 days after irradiation. Control mice were sham-irradiated. a Bar graph showing the average body weight of each group. b Bar graph showing the thymus index. c Bar graph showing the lung index. The data are presented as the mean ± SEM (N = 5). ^a P < 0.05 vs control; ^b P < 0.05 vs TBI