Astaxanthin: A super antioxidant from microalgae and its therapeutic potential

Abstract

Astaxanthin is a ketocarotenoid, super antioxidant molecule. It has higher antioxidant activity than a range of carotenoids, thus has applications in cosmetics, aquaculture, nutraceuticals, therapeutics, and pharmaceuticals.Naturally, it is derived from Haematococcus pluvialis via a one-stage process or two-stage process. Natural astaxanthin significantly reduces oxidative and free-radical stress as compared to synthetic astaxanthin. The present review summarizes all the aspects of astaxanthin, including its structure, chemistry, bioavailability, and current production technology. Also, this paper gives a detailed mechanism for the potential role of astaxanthin as nutraceuticals for cardiovascular disease prevention, skin protection, antidiabetic and anticancer, cosmetic ingredient, natural food colorant, and feed supplement in poultry and aquaculture. Astaxanthin is one of the high-valued microalgae products of the future. However, due to some risks involved or not having adequate research in terms of long-term consumption, it is still yet to be explored by food industries. Although the cost of naturally derived astaxanthin is high, it accounts for only a 1% share in total astaxanthin available in the global market. Therefore, scientists are looking for ways to cut down the cost of natural astaxanthin to be made available to consumers.

Carotenoids from Marine Sources as a New Approach in Neuroplasticity Enhancement

“…AST (3,3'-dihydroxy-β, β-carotene-4,4'-dione) is a natural xanthophylls [92,93]. Its predominant source in the diet are fish and seafood, mainly crawfish, crabs, shrimps, salmon, and pink trout [93][94][95]. The natural sources of AST are the algae Haematoccocus pluvalis [96,97], Chlorella zofingensis, as well as the yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous [77,95,96].…”

“…Its predominant source in the diet are fish and seafood, mainly crawfish, crabs, shrimps, salmon, and pink trout [93][94][95]. The natural sources of AST are the algae Haematoccocus pluvalis [96,97], Chlorella zofingensis, as well as the yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous [77,95,96]. Eight isoprene units containing 40 carbon atoms form the compound's chemical structure.…”

“…The promising pro-health actions of AST include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, hepato-, cardio, and neuroprotective effects [77][78][79][93][94][95][96][97][98]. The potent antioxidant effect of AST manifests in high oxidative potential, production of chelate complexes with metals, and in the presence of metal ions generation of neutral radicals and aggregation into ester forms [99].…”

Astaxanthin from Crustaceans and Their Byproducts: A Bioactive Metabolite Candidate for Therapeutic Application

“…Carotenoid astaxanthin is a compound of great interest to researchers and to the food, feed, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries. Due to its potent antioxidant properties declared to be stronger than vitamin E, vitamin C, and β-carotene, many health and therapeutic benefits [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ] and possible application as a natural coloring in food and feed [ 12 ], astaxanthin has become a highly demanded metabolite. Besides, it is used as a feed ingredient in farming systems for obtaining desirable pigmentation of fish and seafood and improving their immunity [ 13 ].…”

“…Although the production by chemical synthesis is less expensive (about $1000 per kilo), and it is indicated as the most cost-effective way to obtain this astaxanthin [ 19 ], this process does not give a pure compound but a combination of different isoforms that have 20 times lower antioxidant capacity than their natural counterpart. Besides, to date, it has not been approved for human consumption [ 11 , 18 ]. The chemically synthesized astaxanthin is expected to retain its dominance on the market, especially in the feed industry; however, consumers’ focus on naturally extracted astaxanthin products is expected to rise [ 17 ].…”