Astaxanthin

About Astaxanthin

A red xanthophyll carotenoid produced by the microalga Haematococcus pluvialis, which is what makes salmon flesh and flamingo feathers pink. Supplements use algal-derived astaxanthin; a synthetic form is used in aquaculture feed.

Astaxanthin is a genuinely unusual antioxidant molecule — it spans the lipid bilayer rather than sitting inside it, and it does not become pro-oxidant under the conditions that trouble beta-carotene. The human evidence is a large number of small trials across skin, eye fatigue, exercise and blood lipids, mostly Japanese, frequently funded by the two or three companies producing the raw material, and rarely replicated independently. The best-supported area is skin: several small placebo-controlled trials report improved elasticity and moisture and reduced ultraviolet sensitivity. The exercise literature, despite enthusiastic marketing, is mostly null in trained athletes.

Sold as

Softgel in oil, Capsule, Algal oleoresin, Combination eye formulas

Standardised to

Milligrams of astaxanthin; natural algal astaxanthin is predominantly the esterified 3S,4S form, differing from synthetic material used in feed — a product without this marker may not resemble what was studied.

Also known as

Haematococcus astaxanthin, AstaReal, Natural astaxanthin

Regulation: Sold as a dietary supplement in the US with no pre-market efficacy review. European authorities set an acceptable daily intake for astaxanthin that is lower than several retail doses, and synthetic astaxanthin is authorised only as an animal feed additive, not for human supplements.

What the research used

The amounts, forms and durations published trials of Astaxanthin actually administered.

When it was taken

Each window says whether a trial compared it against an alternative, or whether it is convention and pharmacology. Most timing advice is the second kind.

In the food catalogue

The whole-food form, where one exists. The evidence for a concentrated extract rarely transfers to the food, or the other way round — these are cross-links, not equivalents.