Astaxanthin as a powerful antioxidant

"… Insights into this powerful protection mechanism emerged in recent studies (Barros et al., 2001; Goto et al., 2001).

The first study proposed the hypothesis that the conjugated chain moiety and terminal ring moieties of the more potent Astaxanthin trapped radicals both on the membrane surface and in the membrane, whereas the conjugated chain of _-carotene was responsible for radical trapping merely near the membrane surface and in the interior of the membrane.

In order to test whether the antioxidant activity of carotenoids was also related to their effect on membrane permeability, the second study presented an appropriate model. It was shown that the antioxidant activity of Astaxanthin in iron-containing vesicles might be derived from its inherent scavenging ability, as well as its known rigidifying effect, limiting the penetration of lipid peroxidation promoters. In conclusion, Astaxanthin has been shown to be up to 10 times more potent than other carotenoids against a wide array of ROS; its combination of superior potency and versatility yield the ideal antioxidant.

"How relevant are these results to human biological systems? As coming chapters will bring ample evidence of Astaxanthin’s antioxidant activities in multiple physiological systems and conditions, several studies show biological antioxidant activity per se"

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