Astaxanthin is a ketocarotenoid derived from oxidation of β-carotene, naturally extracted from microalgae Haematococcus pluvialis. Astaxanthin is a natural pigment that imparts a reddish-dark color to microorganisms and protects them from external factors such as oxidative damage and protection of cells from UV radiation. In addition, in recent years, astaxanthin has become an important biological indicator for food quality monitoring, and other effects (figure 1) of astaxanthin have also been extensively studied due to its attractive biological properties.
Fig. 1 Main roles of astaxanthin [1]
To date, most of the health benefits of astaxanthin have been related to anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory (we have mentioned in "Health Benefits" and its subordinate pages). However, some pioneering studies have suggested roles of astaxanthin in other applications.
Astaxanthin has also been shown to be effective against diabetes in obese animal models, including improving hepatic and skeletal muscle insulin resistance and protection of β cells against glucose toxicity.
Researchers explored the application of microbial-based astaxanthin as medical cosmetology agents (wound healing), revealing the potential of astaxanthin to enhance growth factor secretions and improve collagen production in human dermal fibroblasts [1].
In addition to the ways of astaxanthin's neuroprotection in figure 1, other studies [2] have shown that treatment using AST can promote nerve cell regeneration and increase gene expression of proteins important for brain recovery, such as glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), microtubule associated protein 2 (MAP-2), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and growth-associated protein 43 (GAP-43). (Learn More about GFAP, MAP-2, BDNF and GAP-43 ⇲)
- GFAP serves significant roles in the repair of central nervous system injury, promotion of cell communication and alleviation of blood-brain barrier damage.
- MAP-2 can regulate microtubule growth and neuronal regeneration.
- BDNF is responsible for neuronal survival and growth and the differentiation of new neurons.
- GAP-43 stimulates the protein kinase pathway and promotes neurite formation, regeneration and plasticity.
It has been studied that astaxanthin can prevent hepatic damage induced by carbon tetra chloride with the enhancement of antioxidant enzyme activities. Astaxanthin treatments showed potent anti-hepatoprotective and anti-oxidant activity in rats when compared with control groups. As Haematococcus pluvialis accumulate astaxanthin which has a higher degree of hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity, they can be used in various formulations and functional foods, which have high demand in the market.
Researchers investigated that oral treatment with microbial-based astaxanthin ameliorated bone loss through the downstream regulation of serum osteoprotegerin in concurrence with the up-regulation of serum nuclear factor-κβ ligand [1].
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
- Mussagy CU, Kot A, Dufossé L, Gonçalves CNDP, et al. Microbial astaxanthin: from bioprocessing to the market recognition. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2023 Jul;107(13):4199-4215.
- Si P, Zhu C. Biological and neurological activities of astaxanthin (Review). Mol Med Rep. 2022 Oct, 26(4):300.
