Astaxanthin and central nervous system

"…A recent animal study showed astonishing results regarding Astaxanthin’s neuro-protective effects (Hussein et al., 2005). Male mice were subjected to transient cerebral ischemia induced by bi-lateral common carotid artery occlusion, a well-documented model for ischemia in humans.

Two other groups of mice were administered Astaxanthin (55 and 550 mg / kg) one hour prior to the artery occlusion, and a fourth group underwent the operation, albeit without the artery occlusion, and hence served as sham.

The researchers tested the mice’s performance in the Morris water maze, in which they may escape the water onto a platform, an action requiring learning and memory skills.

The time course of escaping to the platform was significantly reduced in Astaxanthin-fed mice, from 35 s in the control group, to 25 s in the 55 mg / kg group, and 15 s in the 550 mg / kg group, almost as low as the sham group, reaching the platform in 10 s only. At day 7, Astaxanthin-fed mice presented better memory skills as well.

While control mice spent only 30% of the time at the quadrant where the platform used to be, mice fed with 550 mg / kg Astaxanthin, as well as sham mice, spent 50% of their time there. These results suggest that Astaxanthin may have beneficial effects in improving memory in vascular dementia…"