Comparison of antioxidant effects of resveratrol and delfinidine in ARPE-19 cells and their effects on VEGF

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a progressive disease that is one of the leading causes of blindness in the elderly population worldwide. Oxidative stress-induced dysfunction of retinal pigment epithelial cells plays an important role in its pathogenesis. There is no definitive treatment for AMD. Therefore, the discovery of effective nutritional measures, especially antioxidants, to delay or slow the progression of this disease has been a subject of increasing interest. In this study, we aimed to compare the antioxidant effects of resveratrol and delphinidine, which have known antioxidant properties, in ARPE cells and to evaluate their effects on VEGF. For this purpose, ARPE-19 cells were divided into 8 groups as Control (K), Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2), Resveratrol (RES), Delphinidin (DEL), H2O2 + RES, H2O2 + DEL, RES + DEL, H2O2 + RES + DEL. Cells in the groups other than the control group were incubated with RES or DEL (alone or in combination) for 20 hours and then incubated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for another 4 hours. Changes in glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant level (TAS), total oxidant level (TOS), Poly (ADP-ribose) (PAR) polymerase-1 (PARP-1), 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), apoptosis and VEGF-A levels were measured using confocal microscopy, microlayer reader and ELISA methods. In our study, significant antioxidant activity was observed in resveratrol and delphinidine treated groups, while VEGF-A and apoptosis levels were decreased. Combined delphinidine and resveratrol administration significantly decreased the levels of VEGF-A, apoptosis and oxidant parameters compared to the resveratrol-only group, but did not cause a significant difference compared to the delphinidine-only group. 8-OHdG levels were similarly decreased in the resveratrol and delphinidine alone groups. The results of our study showed that delphinidine treatment decreased PARP-1 levels more effectively than resveratrol. Our results showed that resveratrol and delphinidine have oxidative stress-reducing and cell viability-enhancing effects in ARPE-19 cells. While delphinidine was more effective than resveratrol, there was no statistically significant difference between their combined use and the delphinidine-only group. These findings need to be confirmed by repeated in-vitro studies and supported by further in-vivo and clinical studies.