{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,18]],"date-time":"2026-01-18T02:23:54Z","timestamp":1768703034281,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,25]],"date-time":"2021-01-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1611532800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100013129","name":"Ministry of SMEs and Startups","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["0000"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["0000"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100013129","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>N-retinylidene-N-retinylethanolamine (A2E) accumulation in the retina is a prominent marker of retinal degenerative diseases. Blue light exposure is considered as an important factor contributing to dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Eggplant and its constituents have been shown to confer health benefits, but their therapeutic effects on dry AMD remain incompletely understood. In this study, we showed that an extract of Solanum melongena L. (EPX) protected A2E-laden ARPE-19 cells against blue light-induced cell death via attenuating reactive oxygen species. Transcriptomic analysis demonstrated that blue light modulated the expression of genes associated with stress response, inflammation, and cell death, and EPX suppressed the inflammatory pathway induced by blue light in A2E-laden ARPE-19 cells by inhibiting the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor kappa B and transcription of pro-inflammatory genes (CXCL8 and IL1B). The degradation of intracellular A2E was considered the major mechanism underlying the protective effect of EPX. Moreover, chlorogenic acid isolated from EPX exerted protective effects against blue light-induced cell damage in A2E-laden ARPE-19 cells. In vivo, EPX administration in BALB\/c mice reduced the fundus damage and degeneration of the retinal layer in a blue light-induced retinal damage model. Collectively, our findings suggest the potential role of Solanum melongena L. extract for AMD treatment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu13020359","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,25]],"date-time":"2021-01-25T09:59:40Z","timestamp":1611568780000},"page":"359","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":21,"title":["Solanum melongena L. Extract Protects Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells from Blue Light-Induced Phototoxicity in In Vitro and In Vivo Models"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Thu Nguyen Minh","family":"Pham","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Gachon Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Gachon University, Incheon 21936, Korea"},{"name":"Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hong Bang International University, Ho Chi Minh 215, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chae-Young","family":"Shin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Gachon Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Gachon University, Incheon 21936, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4089-8041","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Seo Hyun","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"R&amp;D Center, Ahn-Gook Health Co., Ltd., Seoul 06164, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Taek Hwan","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"R&amp;D Center, Ahn-Gook Health Co., Ltd., Seoul 06164, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hyeon Yeol","family":"Ryu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Korea Conformity Laboratories, Incheon 21999, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sung-Bae","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Korea Conformity Laboratories, Incheon 21999, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kwang","family":"Auh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"R&amp;D Center, Ahn-Gook Health Co., Ltd., Seoul 06164, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2258-8354","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kwang Won","family":"Jeong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Gachon Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Gachon University, Incheon 21936, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1728","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(12)60282-7","article-title":"Age-related macular degeneration","volume":"379","author":"Lim","year":"2012","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"2913612","article-title":"Cellular and molecular pathology of age-related macular degeneration: Potential role for proteoglycans","volume":"2016","author":"Thach","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. 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