Natural astaxanthin is found naturally in algae, yeast, and aquatic animals (salmon, trout, krill, shrimp, and crayfish). Haematococcus pluvialis is one of the best sources of natural astaxanthin. Naturally astaxanthin is the source of a nutritional supplement in humans and animals. Synthetic astaxanthin is an identical molecule to that produced in living organisms and it consists of a mixture 1:2:1 of isomers (3S, 3S), (3R, 3S), and (3R, 3R) respectively. It is the main carotenoid used worldwide in the aquaculture industry. Here, we highlight some of the key differences between natural astaxanthin and synthetic astaxanthin.
Astaxanthin obtained from Haematococcus pluvialis is the (3S, 3'S)-isomer, whereas yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous produces (3R, 3'R)-isomer, both showing strong antioxidant activity.
Synthetic astaxanthin comprises isomers of (3S, 3'S) (3R, 3'S) and (3R, 3'R) with very low antioxidant activity.
Fig. 1 Structures of the optical isomers all-E-(3S,3' S) (1), all-E-(3R,3' S; meso) (2), and all-E-(3R,3' R) (3) astaxanthin [1]
Natural astaxanthin is comprised of 95% esterified molecules, both mono-esterified and di-esterified (meaning they have either one or two fatty acid molecules attached to the ends of the astaxanthin molecule). While synthetic astaxanthin is produced by a complex petrochemical process and exists in a free from (or non-esterified form, meaning that it is non-esterified and has no fatty acids attached to the ends of the molecule).
A study [2] compared the effect of natural non-esterified astaxanthin vs synthetic esterified astaxanthin intake on exercise performance and distribution in the body. It showed that Haematococcus pluvialis-derived, pre-dominantly esterified astaxanthin material had greater effect on exercise performance.
Natural astaxanthin extracted from Haematococcus pluvialis can be used as additives advanced nutritional health food and medicine, high-grade skin care products, cosmetics, and in aquaculture, poultry farming and other feeds.
Synthetic astaxanthin has been used as a feed ingredient, primarily to pigment the flesh of salmonids. Synthetic astaxanthin has never been demonstrated to be safe for use as a human nutraceutical supplement and has not been tested for health benefits in humans. Due to safety concerns, we recommend against the use of synthetic astaxanthin as a human nutraceutical supplement until extensive, long-term safety parameters have been established and human clinical trials have been conducted showing potential health benefits.
In addition to supplying high quality astaxanthin products, Alfa Chemistry is also committed to astaxanthin related research. For more information about astaxanthin, please feel free to contact us.
References
- Brotosudarmo, T. H. P., Limantara, L., Setiyono, E., & Heriyanto. Structures of Astaxanthin and Their Consequences for Therapeutic Application. International Journal of Food Science, 2020, 1–16.
- Aoi, W., Maoka, T., Abe, R., Fujishita, M., & Tominaga, K. Comparison of the effect of non-esterified and esterified astaxanthins on endurance performance in mice. Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition, 2018, 62(2), 161–166.
