Abstract:The protective effects of lutein ester-astaxanthin complex on the retinal pigment epithelial cell line ARPE-19 and the retinal tissue of Sprague-Dawley（SD）rats exposed to blue light-emitting diodes（LED）were studied.The cells were classified into control，damage，reference，low-，medium-，and high-dose lutein ester-astaxanthin complex groups and pretreated for 6 h.The photo-oxidative damage was induced by blue LED for 12 h. The thiazolyl blue assay was employed to determine the viability of cells，and the degree of damage was evaluated by the lactate dehydrogenase release rate. The fluorescent probe 2′，7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate was used to measure the intracellular reactive oxygen species（ROS）level. A blue light device was used to establish a rat retinal damage model. Specifically，the rats were exposed to blue light at（5 500±100）lux for 10 h and then kept in a dark room（0 lux）for 24 h. Hematoxylin-eosin staining of tissue sections was adopted to observe the morphological changes in the retinae of SD rats，and the oxidative stress indicators in the retinal tissue.The results showed that pretreatment with lutein ester-astaxanthin complex effectively prevented the blue light-induced reduction in ARPE-19 cell viability，protected the cells from damage，and lowered the intracellular ROS level.Meanwhile，the medium-and high-dose lutein ester-astaxanthin complex significantly enhanced the superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities and lowered the malondialdehyde content in the tissue，thus protecting the retinae of SD rats from blue light-induced cellular oxidative stress and histopathological damage.