Let You Know More About Natural Antioxidant – Astaxanthin

• What is astaxanthin?

Astaxanthin is a keto carotenoid, a type of carotenoid, which is a strong natural antioxidant. Its chemical name is 3,3′-dihydroxy-4,4′-diketo-β,β′-carotene, red solid powder, fat-soluble, insoluble in water, soluble in organic solvents. It exists widely in the biological world, especially in aquatic animals such as shrimps, crabs, fish, birds, some algae and fungi, and plays a role in color rendering.

Astaxanthin is a non-provitamin A carotenoid, astaxanthin cannot be converted into vitamin A in animals, but has the same antioxidant effect as carotenoids, it quenches singlet oxygen and captures free radicals. The ability is more than 10 times higher than that of beta-carotene, and more than 100 times stronger than vitamin E. People also call it “super vitamin E”. Astaxanthin has been widely recognized for its antioxidant, coloring, and immune-enhancing properties.

Natural astaxanthin is a carotenoid with strong antioxidant properties, which has the functions of anti-oxidation, anti-aging, anti-tumor, and prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. It has been used in health food, high-end cosmetics, medicines, etc. in the field.

Astaxanthin is a chain-breaking antioxidant. It has strong antioxidant capacity, can remove nitrogen dioxide, sulfide, disulfide, etc., can also reduce lipid peroxidation, and effectively inhibit lipid peroxidation caused by free radicals. At the same time, it has many physiological functions such as inhibiting tumor occurrence, enhancing immunity, and removing free radicals in the body. It has a good therapeutic effect on skin cancer caused by ultraviolet rays, and also has a preventive effect on eye diseases caused by diabetes. It has broad application prospects in cosmetics, food additives and aquaculture.

• What are the benefits and side effects of astaxanthin?

1. Astaxanthin Benefits

a. Astaxanthin and the skin: photoprotective effects

Astaxanthin can absorb ultraviolet rays and reduce the damage of ultraviolet rays to the skin. The absorption peak of astaxanthin is around 470mn, which is similar to the wavelength of UVA, so a small amount of astaxanthin can absorb a large amount of UVA, effectively defend against ultraviolet radiation and quench ultraviolet rays. Free radicals, reduce UV damage to the skin.

b. Astaxanthin inhibits ROS and regulates oxidative stress

Astaxanthin can not only scavenge free radicals directly, but also protect cells by regulating the oxidative defense system in cells. The role of astaxanthin is mainly to absorb UVA damage to the skin, thereby protecting the DNA damage and preventing the formation of excessive melanosomes caused by UVA.

c. Astaxanthin protects eyes

Astaxanthin can inhibit the accumulation of ROS by inhibiting H2O2-induced NF-κB activation in cells. In addition, it relaxes the muscles of the ciliary muscle and increases blood flow to the retina, thereby relieving eye fatigue.

Astaxanthin can also reduce oxidative stress-induced eye damage by reducing the phagocytic ability of neutrophils and increasing the concentration of intracellular calcium ions, thereby protecting eye health.

d. Astaxanthin protects the heart

Astaxanthin can inhibit spontaneous hypertension, and astaxanthin can reduce the fire extinguishing of NO, and at the same time can increase the biocompatibility of NO, and has better antithrombotic and preventive effects on hypertension. In the test, it was also shown that after taking astaxanthin in obese people, LDL, lipoprotein and oxidative stress indicators were decreased. These all show that astaxanthin has a very good protective effect on the heart.

e. Astaxanthin protects the brain

Astaxanthin can inhibit cell death and NF-κB activity by down-regulating caspase-3 enzyme activity, as well as clearing the brain damage caused by IL-1β and TNF-α. It can resist β-amyloid damage to hippocampal primary cells by down-regulating mitochondrial oxidative stress, activating T-cell nuclear factor and up-regulating RyR2 gene expression. In addition, astaxanthin can also reduce cytotoxicity and protect brain cells by inhibiting the influx of calcium ions.

2. Side effects of astaxanthin

Astaxanthin is a natural biological pigment. Taking a small amount of astaxanthin generally has no side effects, but it does not rule out that some people with allergies will experience some side effects.

Common side effects of astaxanthin include increased pigment, hair growth, hormonal changes, and decreased blood pressure. Changes such as decreased calcium levels, decreased libido, and breast enlargement in men are also sometimes found, but are rare. There is also the potential for a fatal allergic reaction, so people allergic to this substance should avoid the food.

But also be aware of its interactions with other drugs.

a. If the antihypertensive drugs and astaxanthin are taken together, the efficacy of the antihypertensive drugs will increase, resulting in a rapid drop in blood pressure, which is dangerous.

b. Antihistamines, asthma medicines, and astaxanthin may affect liver enzymes and increase the possibility of drug retention in the bloodstream.

c. The introduction of carotene antioxidants such as lycopene and astaxanthin into the human body will also reduce the absorption of nutrients by the human body.

d. A small number of people may have allergic reactions. People with this constitution should try to avoid taking astaxanthin.

• The source and method of extraction of astaxanthin?

1. Extract the source

Natural astaxanthin comes from algae, bacteria, phytoplankton, crustaceans, fish, birds, poultry, etc. Studies have found that many species of algae, such as snow algae, chlamydomonas, Euglena, and Urea algae, contain astaxanthin. Among them, Haematococcus pluvialis can accumulate astaxanthin up to 4% of the dry weight of the cells, and the accumulation rate is similar to that of astaxanthin. The total production is higher than other green algae, and it is currently recognized as the best biological source for the production of natural astaxanthin. Bacteria have low utilization value due to their own factors. Phaffia rhodozyma is considered to be the most suitable source of astaxanthin for fungal fermentation production. Extraction of astaxanthin from Phaffia rhodozyma is one of the main ways to produce astaxanthin.

Haematococcus pluvialis (H. pluviaso) is a single-celled organism. During the cultivation process, when the nitrogen source is sufficient, it can promote cell growth; when the nitrogen source is lacking, it can stimulate the production of cells and accumulate astaxanthin in the body white. The production of astaxanthin by Haematococcus pluvialis has the characteristics of fast cell reproduction, simple culture and easy extraction, and the algal flour can be directly used in the food and feed industry to reduce costs, so it is considered to be a promising astaxanthin production. of microalgae.

Chlorella zofingiensis belongs to the Chlorella genus of the Chlorophyta phylum. It has the characteristics of easy cultivation, rapid growth, high temperature resistance and extreme pH, and easy outdoor cultivation. Its synthesis of astaxanthin has some of the advantages of both Phaffia rhodozyma and Haematococcus pluvialis, and can use organic matter such as glucose as carbon source and energy to rapidly synthesize astaxanthin under dark conditions.

2. Extraction method

At present, astaxanthin is mainly produced in two ways: chemical synthesis and natural extraction. Chemically synthesized astaxanthin is not only expensive, but also significantly different from natural astaxanthin in terms of molecular structure, biological function, application effect and biosafety performance. In turn, the extraction of natural astaxanthin has gradually become dominant.

With the deepening of the research on the extraction method of astaxanthin, the production process of astaxanthin has been continuously optimized and upgraded, especially in the separation and purification of astaxanthin. At present, the production methods of natural astaxanthin are mainly divided into two categories: biological fermentation method and extraction method from crustacean processing leftovers. The specific separation and purification processes include alkali extraction, oil dissolution, organic solvent extraction, supercritical extraction, enzymatic hydrolysis, microwave treatment and the like.

a. The typical process of extracting astaxanthin by supercritical extraction of animal shells is as follows:

Shrimp shell crushing → dilute acid treatment → washing to neutrality → drying → charging → supercritical static extraction → supercritical cyclic extraction → collection → saponification → liquid chromatography analysis and purification → packaging → frozen preservation

b. The process of extracting astaxanthin from Phaffia rhodozyma is as follows:

Phaffia rhodozyma cell activation→inoculation→fermentation→centrifugation to collect the cells→drying→wall breaking treatment→leaching→concentration→analysis and extraction of astaxanthin.

Chemical synthesis from β-carotene to astaxanthin requires the addition of 2 ketone groups and 2 hydroxyl groups, chemical synthesis is difficult, and most of the products are cis structures, while most of astaxanthin required for biosynthesis is trans structure. The synthesis of astaxanthin requires multi-step chemical and biocatalytic reactions. The process is very complicated, the synthesis is relatively difficult, and the synthesized trans-astaxanthin is expensive.

Other methods: In addition to natural extraction, chemical synthesis and other two methods of producing astaxanthin, β-carotene in bacteria, protozoa, and crops can also be used as the precursor material, and the enzyme for synthesizing astaxanthin can be synthesized by transgenic technology. Transferred to the corresponding crops to synthesize astaxanthin. But at present, this method of producing astaxanthin is only in experimental research.

• What are the applications of astaxanthin?

1. Food health food

Astaxanthin has been used as a food additive for food coloring, preservation and nutrition. Astaxanthin is fat-soluble, with bright red color and strong antioxidant properties. It has both coloring and fresh-keeping effects on foods, especially those with more lipids. People also use astaxanthin to strengthen immune system function, fight cancer, protect retina from ultraviolet radiation and photooxidation, anti-inflammatory, prevent oxidative damage of blood low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, etc. vegetarian health products.

2. Medicines

The antioxidant and immune-promoting effects of astaxanthin can be used to prevent oxidative tissue damage. The antioxidant properties of astaxanthin can also be used to prevent atherosclerosis and related diseases, so it is used as a preparation for the prevention of arteriosclerosis, coronary heart disease and ischemic brain damage; in addition, astaxanthin can also be used as a general antioxidant. Bioperoxidants, anticancer agents and infertility treatments, promote embryo and sperm development.

3. Feed industry

The largest market for astaxanthin is in the feed industry, where it can be used as a feed additive mainly for fish (salmon, sturgeon, rainbow trout, sea bream, etc.) and crustaceans such as shrimp and crabs and poultry. Astaxanthin, as a colorant for aquaculture animals, can make aquatic animals show bright colors and make them more ornamental; adding astaxanthin in poultry feed can increase the pigment content of egg yolk; it can also improve hens. egg production rate and promote the health of laying hens. Astaxanthin has the same functions as humans in the prevention and treatment of fish, shrimp, crab and poultry diseases. It can improve immunity, improve survival rate, and play an important role in its normal growth and healthy breeding, and improving survival rate and reproduction rate. Astaxanthin can also increase the flavor of fish, it can be used directly as a precursor compound for the formation of salmon food flavor, and it can also promote the conversion of fatty acids or other lipid precursors into salmon flavor compounds.

4. Cosmetics

As a new cosmetic raw material, astaxanthin is widely used in creams, emulsions, lip balms, skin care products and other cosmetics due to its excellent properties. Especially in the field of advanced cosmetics, natural astaxanthin with its unique molecular structure, through its antioxidant effect, can efficiently quench free radicals caused by ultraviolet rays, prevent skin photoaging, reduce UVA and UVB damage to the skin, prevent Skin cancer, slow down cell aging, reduce skin wrinkles, reduce melanin deposition, reduce freckles, retain moisture, and make skin more elastic, toned and moisturized. Japan already has a patent for the production of cosmetics using the anti-photosensitivity effect of astaxanthin.

• How safe is astaxanthin?

The natural shrimps, crabs, fish and other aquatic animals that humans eat daily are rich in natural astaxanthin. There are no adverse reactions and symptoms of poisoning in human daily consumption. Therefore, natural astaxanthin is safe for humans and animals. Tests have also proved that up to this point. Oral administration of Haematococcus pluvialis algae powder rich in natural astaxanthin has no pathogenic effect or toxic side effect on human body. However, chemically synthesized astaxanthin may be contaminated by other harmful substances during the synthesis process, and the product also contains a large amount of cis-isomers, and its bioavailability safety is reduced. Therefore, chemically synthesized astaxanthin is used in food, feed, and pharmaceuticals. and cosmetic applications are greatly restricted.

 

The above is the detailed information of astaxanthin that we introduce to you. We hope that through these contents, you will have a deeper understanding of astaxanthin, and please forward it to the people around you who need it. thank you very much.

Xi’an Herb Bio is a professional supplier of Natural Astaxanthin and other antioxidants from China. For more details, please click here to contact us.