Astaxanthin: A Potential Treatment in Disease and Aging, Lifespan Increase

#446

I’m skeptical of this industry-funded study:

AstaReal wins NutraIngredients-Asia Award for first clinical trial on children’s digital eye health

The recognition comes for conducting the world’s first clinical trial on digital eye health in children, with the study published in Advances in Therapy.

The trial demonstrated that astaxanthin supplementation can effectively reduce both chronic and acute digital eye strain whilst enhancing objective measures of visual performance.

In the clinical study, school-aged children received a daily dose of 4 mg of astaxanthin (AstaReal) for 84 days.

The findings indicate a significant improvement in chronic digital eye strain in the astaxanthin group compared with placebo, demonstrating a 20% greater reduction in the CVS (Computer Vision Syndrome) symptoms score by the end of the study.

The results also showed a 27% improvement in visual fatigue (acute digital eye strain) as well as improved stereopsis and pupillary light reflexes after the trial period.

Paper (paywalled):

Astaxanthin (AstaReal®) Improved Acute and Chronic Digital Eye Strain in Children: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial

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#447

Yeah, they pulled out a small change in one of the parameters. And the placebo group also seemed to get better over time too.

I thought lutein and zeaxanthin were the go-to for eye health, eye strain etc. Though Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant, so I guess it’s plausible to be helpful here.

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#448

You have anthrax? That’s contagious… hahaha.

Eat some carrots and sweet potatoes… the orange coloring might balance to a more tanned look. :rofl:

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#449

Exactly correct. Lutein and zeaxanthin (and mesozeaxanthin) are most absorbed by tissues in the eye and most biologically significant. Astaxanthin is absorbed too, but to a much smaller extent, and doesn’t seem to do anything beyond what the former accomplish. I posted a ton of papers in various threads on all these carrotenoids and the eye.

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#450

Hello RapAdmin, are you still taking 144mg of astaxanthin daily? Could you please share if you’re taking synthetic or natural astaxanthin?

I’m currently taking synthetic astaxanthin from the brand ZanthoSyn, which you can buy it on GNC, Sometimes GNC have 50% off promotions, making it the cheapest synthetic astaxanthin I’ve seen.
https://www.gnc.com/antioxidants/539602.html#q=ZanthoSyn&lang=default&start=1

I’ve read the 2019 safety review paper. While the maximum safe dose for natural astaxanthin seems quite high, I’m unsure about the safety of synthetic astaxanthin.

I know of people taking synthetic astaxanthin, such as Siim Land has been taking 24mg of synthetic astaxanthin daily for a year. Does anyone else have experience with synthetic astaxanthin?

I’m currently taking 3 ZanthoSyn capsules daily, which is 12mg * 3 = 36mg of synthetic astaxanthin. My liver enzyme levels are normal, but compared to the dosage for ITP, it seems insufficient. I plan to increase it to 12mg * 4 = 48mg. What are your thoughts, or are there any research papers I could refer to? Thank you.

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#451

I only did it for a week or two - then (because everything the Asta powder touched seemed to stain red, and I was concerned about my teeth) I stopped. I haven’t had time to devise a solution (e.g. encapsulation, etc.). It’s the Dutch company I sourced from. Synthetic. See this discussion: Astaxanthin, Natural vs. Synthetic - Your Thoughts?

I wouldn’t trust all synthetic versions.

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#452

ZanthoSyn is the brand I use since that’s the formula that was used in the ITP, which used mega mega mega doses of it and all the mice lived longer.

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#453

So what’s this forum’s conclusion on astaxanthin after the failed low-dose ITP results? New March 2026 ITP results - Its All Bad (Negative results) News

poke @relaxedmeatball

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#454

Ha, I think Astaxanthin is still a good longevity model. Rationale:

  1. It showed a significant positive effect in the previous ITP. The given dose was 4,000ppm [big caveat here. More about this later]. Resulting in a 12% median lifespan increase in males, P = 0.003.

  2. This new result (failure) was at a much lower dose of 800ppm.

Now, when we look at the dose, 800ppm in the mouse food is equivalent to around 600mg per day for an adult human, and 4,000ppm is equivalent to 2,800mg per day. Obviously SUPER high doses, impossible for a human to take.

However, we have to bear in mind several things:

  1. The mouse absorption sucks. Astaxanthin is fat soluble, and mice eat dry pellets of mostly carbs.
  2. Mice metabolise astaxanthin much quicker than humans do
  3. Most importantly, look at the supplemental data, Tables S4 and S5

In the 800ppm group, the mouse mean plasma concentration reached 20ng/ml, measured in the study.

In humans, there are several studies looking at the dose and plasma concentrations:

  1. 8mg/d in humans = 112ng/ml in plasma (https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e417/dd0e808a8b73aab85bf5f0fe6bf9abe92aaf.pdf)
  2. 12mg/d in humans = 210ng/ml (Astaxanthin Pharmacokinetics – Cellbone)
  3. 2mg/d in humans = 60ng/ml

Note that even 2mg/d in humans gives a plasma concentration 3x higher than the mice in the 800ppm ITP study.

So basically, this failure doesn’t bother me at all. The mice were actually getting a human equivalent dose of something like 0.7mg per day.

In the ITP study which found lifespan extension, the mice plasma levels should be around 45-90ng/ml, which is similar to a human taking ~3-6mg per day. (However, they did not report it in the paper, so I’m making an assumption of linear dose:absorption here).

The ITP isn’t perfect. If you look at the numbers, the sample sizes would allow them to detect a 10% lifespan with 80% power. They also frequently run into trouble with formulations and absorption issues. For example, in the 4,000ppm run, the actual concentration turned out to be only 1840ppm. (Hence me giving ranges of 3-6mg/d or 45-90ng/ml).

They also have site to site inconsistencies, which was especially bad in this run. And finally, they’ve had false positives before (like Aspirin, which was 8% increase, P = 0.07). However, the first Astaxanthin trial was a 12% increase and a much lower P value of 0.003, giving me a lot more confidence.

Bigger picture, Astaxanthin ticks a lot of boxes. Antioxidant, yes, but also Nrf2 activator, NF-kB inhibitor, promotes autophagy, suppresses mTOR, lowers CRP and increases NK cell activity (Astaxanthin decreased oxidative stress and inflammation and enhanced immune response in humans - PMC) and a review here summarises a ton of anti-cancer studies: (Redirecting). More than 50 human clinical trials, and no documented adverse effects.

Personally, I take 12mg per day.

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#455

Thanks for this summary!

@John_Hemming: what are your thoughts on Asta?

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#456

I dont understand its mechanism. I used to take it and did not restock when i ran out.

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#457

I think this might be useful in a lot of contexts in combination with other drugs - in PD for example. So it’s not that asta does “x” (like Nrf2 activation), but that this in combination with other drugs along a physiological pathway is what allows for the beneficial effects.

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#458

Yes definitely. I am not proposing that it is magical or anything like that, but it’s a molecule that, if discovered by a drug company, would definitely be investigated seriously. It’s not some bunk supplement IMO, but it’s a serious compound which a lot of bioactivity. (Consider statins or SGLT2i drugs which also have multiple potent effects)

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#459

On the other hand if you inhibit NF-κB you reduce the transcription of SLC25A1 which is I think (from a 2021 paper) one of the causes of senescence.

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#460

I’ve taken astaxanthin on and off over the years, and have been taking it continuously since about 2018. For a while I was taking 24 mg per day (two pills, 12 mg).

I still remember about 10 or 15 years ago a guy writing online that it had amazing benefits for him. I think he said he had Crohn’s disease, and that astaxanthin was the only thing that gave him much relief at all. I think he was taking upwards of 50 to 100 mg every day.

I personally don’t notice any effect, but just assume it does something good, however minor, especially given ITP results. (I think the same about AKG, that it has benefits for specific conditions, but acknowledge that it may not extend lifespan.)

Some other things people have said about astaxanthin, for which one can find articles on the web about (I haven’t tried to verify if they are believable), are that it improves endurance in the elderly, upregulates FOXO3, and protects cell membranes.

Oh, and I recall reading that mice lack the necessary binding proteins to stabilize it, resulting in low bioavailability in mice.

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#461

asta is one of my daily supps

it definitely helps me to think faster/better (this has been scientifically proven) and maybe a bit more endurance

#462

For me, the strongest argument is cancer prevention. That’s what it did in the ITP mice, and has been shown across plenty of in vitro studies. Thus I don’t expect to feel any sort of benefit from it. But I would like to believe that it is helping keep my future cancer risk low.

Still, I don’t push the dose too high, since I think saturating yourself with potent antioxidants generally backfires.

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#463

i am not aware asta can prevent cancer. it is mostly known as a good antioxidant that reduces inflammation and ROS. It also activates Nrf2 pathways.

  • Antioxidant & Detoxification: Nrf2 neutralizes reactive oxygen species (ROS) and detoxifies pollutants, reducing macromolecules damage.
  • Anti-inflammatory: Nrf2 suppresses pro-inflammatory mediators such as NF-ĸB.
  • Cellular Maintenance: It plays a crucial role in autophagy and mitochondrial health.
  • “Dark Side” of Nrf2: While protective against disease, chronic or abnormal activation can aid cancer cell survival and promote drug resistance.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) | (.gov)National Institutes of Health (NIH) | (.gov) +5

#464

Well, I think it can prevent cancer, since it certainly seems to interfere with cancer cell growth.

Like I said, we have the ITP, where cancer is the main cause of death in the mice, and that was significantly delayed by a human equivalent dose of ~4mg/d.

There’s no human RCT or anything that nice, unfortunately. Most of the studies looking at cancer are small in vitro or rodent studies, but there are quite a lot:

There a review article here: Astaxanthin in cancer therapy and prevention (Review) - PMC

And some specific studies below. None are perfect, by any means. Coming from a few research groups, some with industry funding etc. Variable quality of the journals they’re published in. But this is a supplement that nobody is going to make money from, so there probably won’t ever be some amazing study.

ASX significantly reduced proliferation rates and inhibited breast cancer cell migration compared to control normal breast epithelial cells.

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/13/7111

Paper from 1995, giving rats a toxic mixture and monitoring for oral cancers: Chemoprevention of rat oral carcinogenesis by naturally occurring xanthophylls, astaxanthin and canthaxanthin - PubMed

At the end of the study (week 32), the incidences of preneoplastic lesions and neoplasms in the oral cavity of rats treated with [other stuff] or AX were significantly smaller than those of rats given 4-NQO alone (P < 0.001).

In particular, no oral neoplasms developed in rats fed AX

Another from 1994, this time for bladder cancers: Chemoprevention of mouse urinary bladder carcinogenesis by the naturally occurring carotenoid astaxanthin - PubMed

At the end of the study (week 41), the incidences of preneoplastic lesions and neoplasms in the bladder of mice treated with OH-BBN and AX or CX were smaller than those of mice given OH-BBN. In particular, AX administration after OH-BBN exposure significantly reduced the incidence of bladder cancer (transitional cell carcinoma) (P < 0.003).

This one showed slower tumour growth in mice taking ASX before tumour implantation. But actually faster cancer growth is ASX was started afterwards

Compared to the basal diet group, the 0.4% (but not the 0.04%) astaxanthin diet significantly reduced the incidence of palpable mammary carcinoma (92% vs. 42%; p<0.05)

Prostate cancer: Anti-Tumor Effects of Astaxanthin by Inhibition of the Expression of STAT3 in Prostate Cancer - PMC

The treatment of DU145 cells with astaxanthin decreased the cloning ability, increased the apoptosis percentage and weakened the abilities of migration and invasion of the cells.

The results showed that 100 mg/kg astaxanthin significantly inhibited tumor growth compared to the TC group, with an inhibitory rate of 41.7%. A decrease of Ki67 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) as well as an increase of cleaved caspase-3 were observed in HA-treated tumors, along with increasing apoptotic cells, obtained by TUNEL assay.

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#465

Interesting

I take 12mg daily but maybe thats too high

I recall the human equicalent is 4 to 8mg maybe i am wrong