Astaxanthin The Super Antioxidant - Nutritional Health Supplements

What is Astaxanthin?
(as-tuh-zan'-thin)

[This is Important - Please Read All of It]
Astaxanthin is a carotenoid and carotenoids are organic pigments (molecules that reflect color) which occur naturally in plants and some organisms that are photosynthetic.  Photosynthesis is the process of synthesizing light from the sun and producing nutrients which occur in higher plants, phytoplankton, and algae. Or put another way "...is the process that converts energy in sunlight to chemical forms of energy that can be used by biological systems."1

Astaxanthin most often is found in the human diet when eating seafood such as salmon, red fishes, shrimp or lobster.  And, Astaxanthin has been shown in studies to have 100-500 times the antioxidant capacity of Vitamin E as well as 10 times beta-carotene’s antioxidant capacity.

To understand why Astaxanthin is such a powerful antioxidant we need to look at how nature protects algae from the harmful, and in the case of algae, deadly UV radiation.  Under normal conditions microalgae swim about freely in pools of green water but when the water pools dry out and the algae are exposed to intense direct sunlight and no longer have the protection of the water, they begin producing large quantities of bright red Astaxanthin to compensate for the lack of protection.  The Astaxanthin repairs the damage being done to the algae by the UV radiation.  This allows the algae to survive even the harshest of conditions because that super antioxidant now protects these organisms.

Another benefit of the Astaxanthin is addressing the blood-brain barrier.  The blood-brain barrier is a dense network of tight capillary walls, it is 5 nanometers between cells, which prevent harmful substances (bacteria, fungi, viruses, etc.) from entering the brain.  This barrier allows neurotransmitters to cross as well as nutrients that are small enough molecules to pass through the barrier.  Beta-carotene cannot cross the blood-brain barrier; but due to its small molecular structure, Astaxanthin can.  Since it can cross the blood-brain barrier Astaxanthin can deliver the benefits of antioxidant directly to the brain and central nervous system where so many other antioxidants cannot.   

Astaxanthin is found in many places in nature, but it is usually in small quantities as in salmon or shrimp.  By far the most concentrated and natural source of Astaxanthin is the Haematococcus pluvialis algae.  This green algae also provides other important carotenoids such as beta-carotene.

A double-blind study was conducted on young male students in good health.  The students given one capsule daily of Astaxanthin for 6 months showed improved strength and endurance over the placebo group.  In knee bends and barbell weight lifting the placebo group came in at only 21.78% improvement where as the experimental group came in at 61.74%.

Also stress experiments done with shrimp show a higher survival rate for shrimp fed Astaxanthin in their diet; 87% of shrimp survived versus only 50% survived that were fed beta-carotene.

What is Haematococcus pluvialis?

Haematococcus pluvialisis is a Green microalgae which is the richest known natural source for Astaxanthin and unique properties of Astaxanthin which open very promising possibilities of applications for human health and nutrition.

Astaxanthin is a Super Antioxidant!

1 By Wim Vermaas
Professor, School of Life Sciences, and
"Center fro the Study of Early Events in Photosynthesis

"Sunlight plays a much larger role in our sustenance than we may expect: all the food we eat and all the fossil fuel we use is a product of photosynthesis, which is the process that converts energy in sunlight to chemical forms of energy that can be used by biological systems. Photosynthesis is carried out by many different organisms, ranging from plants to bacteria. The best known form of photosynthesis is the one carried out by higher plants and algae, as well as by cyanobacteria and their relatives, which are responsible for a major part of photosynthesis in oceans."
An Introduction to Photosynthesis

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