Astaxanthin - the king of antioxidants

Medical researchers have shown that ASTAXANTHIN may have significant pharmaceutical applications. In-vitro experiments, in-vivo pre-clinical studies and early-stage clinical trials have clearly indicated the possibility that ASTAXANTHIN itself, or in conjunction with other components, behaves like a prophylactic and curing agent against various diseases and health conditions.

What is Astaxanthin?

Astaxanthin is the main carotenoid pigment found in aquatic animals. This red-orange pigment is closely related to other well-known carotenoids such as beta-carotene or lutein, but has a stronger antioxidant activity (10 times higher than beta-carotene). Studies suggest that Astaxanthin can be 1000 times more effective as an antioxidant than vitamin E.

In many of the aquatic animals where it can be found, Astaxanthin has a number of essential biological functions, ranging from protection against oxidation of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids, protection against UV-light effects, pro-vitamin A activity and vision, immune response, pigmentation, and communication, to reproductive behavior and improved reproduction.

In species such as salmon or shrimp, Astaxanthin is even considered as essential to normal growth and survival, and has been attributed vitamin-like properties. Some of these unique properties have also been found to be effective in mammals and open very promising possibilities for nutraceutical and pharmaceutical applications of Astaxanthin in humans.

Where Is Astaxanthin Found in Nature?

It can be found in many of our favorite seafood such as salmon, trout, red seabream, shrimp, lobster and fish eggs. It is also found in a number of bird species. Astaxanthin cannot be synthesized by animals and must be provided in the diet, as is the case with other carotenoids. While fish such as salmon are unable to convert other dietary carotenoids into Astaxanthin, some species such as shrimp have a limited capacity to convert closely related dietary carotenoids into Astaxanthin, although they will benefit strongly from being fed Astaxanthin directly.

Mammals are also unable to synthesize Astaxanthin. Some microorganisms can be quite rich in Astaxanthin. Ubiquitous micro-algae, Haematococcus pluvialis is believed to be the organism, which can accumulate the highest levels of Astaxanthin in nature.

The function of Astaxanthin

The function of Astaxanthin appears to be to protect the algae from adverse environment changes, such as increased UV-light photoxidation and evaporation of the water pools in which it lives.

Haematococcus algae can accumulate as high as 10 to 30 g of Astaxanthin per kg of dry biomass. This level is 1,000 to 3,000 fold higher than in salmon fillets! Some strains have even been observed to accumulate as much as 70 to 80 g of Astaxanthin per kg of dry biomass.

More on Astaxanthin?

Astaxanthin is a red pigment occurring naturally in a variety of living organisms. Although the word Astaxanthin may not be commonly encountered in everyday speech, the pigment itself is found in many human foods, and you are quite likely to be consuming it in your diet already. Most crustaceans, including shrimp, crawfish, crabs and lobster, are tinted red by accumulated Astaxanthin. The coloration of fish is often due to Astaxanthin; the pink flesh of a healthy wild salmon is a conspicuous example. In commercial fish and crustacean farms, Astaxanthin is commonly added to feeds in order to make up for the lack of a natural dietary source of the pigment (Torrissen et al. 1989).

Not only does Astaxanthin provide for pigmentation in these farmed animals, it also has been found to be essential for their proper growth and survival (Torrissen and Christiansen 1995).

Astaxanthin is one of a group of natural pigments known as carotenoids. In nature, carotenoids are produced principally by plants and their microscopic relatives, the microalgae. Animals cannot synthesize carotenoids de novo, thus ultimately they must obtain these pigments from the plants and algae that support their food chains (Britton et al. 1995).

Commercial production of Astaxanthin from the microalga Haematococcus pluvialis is a growing business worldwide, primarily due to the rapid growth of this microorganism and its high Astaxanthin content. Other commercial ventures for natural Astaxanthin production utilize fermentation of the pink yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous or extraction of the pigment from by-products of crustacea such as the Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba). In addition to production from natural sources, Astaxanthin may be chemically synthesized, and synthetic Astaxanthin is the major form currently being used in fish feeds (McCoy 1999).

The Astaxanthin molecule is similar to that of the familiar carotenoid beta-carotene, but the small differences in structure confer large differences in the chemical and biological properties of the two molecules. In particular, Astaxanthin exhibits superior antioxidant properties to beta-carotene in a number of in vitro studies (Terao 1989; Miki 1991; Palozza and Krinsky 1992; Lawlor and O'Brien 1995).

While the positive effects of Astaxanthin on farmed fish and crustaceans have been recognized for years, the potential benefits of this powerful antioxidant to human health are only now being revealed.

More on Astaxanthin: In the Pink

We accept the vibrancy of life around us as normal daily occurrences. We walk through a bird aviary and ooh and ahh at feathers of flamingos. We enjoy the delectable pink taste of shrimp or salmon without understanding that within that pink nestles an antioxidant ready to combat the free radicals that assault our bodies daily. Astaxanthin is that same red-orange carotenoid pigment found in aquatic animals or in the feathers of the more exotic bird variety. Not only does it add a splash of color to life, it also ranks as one of the strongest antioxidants known to man.

It actually beats, ten times, beta-carotene's strength and research has shown it to be more effective than both vitamin C and E. (Jyonouchi, H., L. Zhang, M. Gross, and Y. Tomita. 1994 Immunomodulating actions of carotenoids: Enhancement of in vivo and in vitro antibody production to T-dependent antigens. Nutr. Cancer 21:47-58)

Antioxidants are absolutely necessary in maintaining a healthy body. Within our bodies are little rascals known as free radicals. Free radicals are highly unstable molecules due to their lack of one unpaired electron, making them "jealous" of and dangerous to other molecules. This "envy" motivates them to rip an electron from a stable molecule, causing a once healthy molecule to become unsteady. Once a free radical damages a molecule, that molecule follows suit and damages other molecules starting a vicious chain of events. Some doctors and scientists theorize that free radicals promote aging and all its effects. Unfortunately, we can't stop free radicals since they're oxygen based.

Every time we breathe, oxygen molecules pass into our lungs, travel through our blood stream, and are delivered to cells that consume oxygen for energy and for building proteins. But what's good for the goose, is not always good for the gander and the highly reactive oxygen can throw some molecules off, leaving them with an extra or stripped of one electron. If this only happened once in a while, free radicals would not be so worrisome but, unluckily for us and our cells and DNA, each cell can receive 1,000 hits by free radical activity in a 24-hour period!

Since we need to breathe and oxygen is essential, doctors and scientists have discovered that nature has developed a free radical clean-up crew referred to as antioxidants. Astaxanthin is an antioxidant that goes the extra mile. Since it has a low molecular weight, it can pass the blood-brain barrier where it works it's antioxidant magic on the eye, brain, and central nervous system. It also has a longer life span and is resistant to damage, allowing it a longer amount of time to escort free radicals from cells to other antioxidants like vitamin C.

Looking at past studies, it is clear that cartenoids can influence different aspects of the immune system. They can stimulate the T-helper cells, improve rejection of foreign tissue, and increase the action of natural killer cells that destroy tumor cells and fungi. Our immune systems are constantly bombarded with foreign and harmful substances, and any assistance it can receive from an antioxidant is always welcome. When all of these factors add up, Astaxanthin proves itself to be a powerful ally to the body.

So do yourself a favor, add a splash of color to your life by supplementing your diet with food containing Astaxanthin from the antioxidant's natural occurring and strongest source, the algae Haematococcus, a fresh water microalgae. It's a natural source to saving your life and keeping you healthy.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Astaxanthin?

Astaxanthin is a member of the carotenoid family. These molecules are associated with many of the colors that you see in leaves, flowers and fruit. They are one of the most abundant molecules in the world and give nature its wide variety of colors. Carotenoids have a long structure called the polyene system and may also have ring groups at one or either end.

The differences in the polyene and ring structures are what varies the carotenoids and their corresponding colors due to different light absorbencies. Astaxanthin is a red pigment and the predominant carotenoid of most crustacean species. Interestingly, when Astaxanthin binds to different protein, it can appear green, yellow, blue or brown. When these "carotenoproteins" are denatured by cooking, Astaxanthin is released and the red color becomes apparent again.

2. What types of Astaxanthin are currently available?

At this time, the primary source of Astaxanthin and carotenoids are mostly synthetic forms produced by chemical means. There are also natural sources available from processed krill, crawfish and yeast and from Haematococcus algae, the most concentrated source of natural Astaxanthin that is available.

3. What are the benefits of using an algae source for Astaxanthin compared to the other natural forms?

The krill, crawfish and Phaffia sources contain low concentrations of Astaxanthin. Feeds may require so much addition of these products for effective pigmentation that it adds unwanted bulk and ash, decreases palatability, and alters the nutrient balance of the diet. The Astaxanthin derived from Haematococcus algae is the most concentrated source of natural Astaxanthin that is available.

Research

There is a large body of research available on Astaxanthin. Several scientific papers have been written on medical and neutraceutical applications of Astaxanthin. Medical researchers have shown that ASTAXANTHIN may have significant pharmaceutical applications. In-vitro experiments, in-vivo pre-clinical studies and early-stage clinical trials have clearly indicated the possibility that ASTAXANTHIN itself, or in conjunction with other components, behaves like a prophylactic and curing agent against various diseases and health conditions (See Tables 1 and 2).