Astaxanthin

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Exercise-related inflammation²

  In firefighters, astaxanthin taken for four weeks seemed to ease some inflammation after hard exercise, but more research is needed.

• Open question

  PCOS inflammation³

  In women with PCOS, astaxanthin lowered some inflammation markers over 8 weeks, but not CRP, and did not improve symptoms.

• Benefit

  Heart failure symptoms⁴

  In people with heart failure, astaxanthin supplements improved breathlessness and tiredness over eight weeks.

• Benefit

  Eye-hand coordination⁵

  In people who work at screens, astaxanthin with lutein and zeaxanthin helped keep eye-hand coordination from slipping.

Animal and lab studies only

• Benefit

  Heart and eye health⁸

  Astaxanthin is said to help prevent heart disease and cataracts, but most research so far is in lab studies.

• Benefit

  Gum health in diabetes⁹

  In diabetic mice, astaxanthin lessened gum damage but did not improve high blood sugar.

Study type not stated

• Open question

  Long-term eating effects⁶

  Natural astaxanthin cut oxidative and free-radical stress more than synthetic astaxanthin, but long-term eating risks are not well studied.

• Open question

  Synthetic additive health effects⁷

  Scientists do not yet know whether eating synthetic astaxanthin over a long time affects human health.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least two findings in people. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.