Astaxanthin is a potent and safe anti-inflammatory that can improve the health in humans and animals. Astaxanthin is proven to reduce inflammation at its source, without the harmful side effects of common anti-inflammatories and pain relievers. Astaxanthin has undergone extensive safety testing and has a long history of use in humans and animals.
Astaxanthin in Nature
Astaxanthin is widely and naturally found in marine organisms, including microalgae, crustaceans, salmon, and trout. It’s the substance that gives these marine animals their distinct color.
Animals have adapted to exploit the health benefits of astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is believed to protect microalgae from environmental stress. Salmon accumulate astaxanthin from their diet and store it in their muscle tissue; astaxanthin is believed to protect salmon from oxidative stress when they swim upstream to spawn – a taxing and traumatic event.
Since 1980’s over 2,000 peer-reviewed papers exploring astaxanthin have been published in scientific journals noting astaxanthin can improve human health and vitality.
Astaxanthin has demonstrated efficacy in models of inflammatory-mediated disease, including:
- Reduction of TNF-α levels equivalent to a steroid
- Reduction of cholesterol levels
- Reduction of elevated triglycerides
- Reduction in blood clot formation with no increase in bleeding
- Decrease in myocardial tissue damage following experimentally-induced myocardial infarction
- Reduction of liver enzymes and liver histological damage
Mechanism of Action
The mechanism of action of astaxanthin is quite different than most drugs, and we believe is responsible for its excellent safety profile.
Most drugs target single receptors or enzymes in complex pathways, which can lead to side effects with chronic use. Astaxanthin is distributed systemically, including to the liver and heart, where it localizes in cellular and mitochondrial membranes and reduces the oxidative stress that causes chronic inflammation, without affecting the normal function of inflammatory/metabolic signaling pathways.
Unlike other antioxidants such as beta-carotene, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E, astaxanthin spans and stabilizes cellular and mitochondrial membranes (biological lipid bilayers) to function as an aqueous and lipid phase antioxidant without membrane disruption, as proven by X-ray diffraction studies. As a result, astaxanthin demonstrates positive and quantifiable pleiotropic effects on many inflammatory cytokines and drug targets.
Astaxanthin has no known side effects of clinical significance. We believe astaxanthin’s excellent safety profile will be a key competitive advantage compared to other drugs targeting inflammation and lipids.
Astaxanthin is Generally Recognized as Safe (“GRAS”) as a food substance according to U.S. FDA regulations and has undergone extensive toxicity testing by third parties and us with no clinically meaningful issues even at extremely high doses.
