Astaxanthin and liver function

"…As remarkable as these findings are so far, research has progressed even further. Investigation of Astaxanthin metabolism in primary cultures of human hepatocytes confirmed its role in induction of the major cytochrome P450 enzyme (Kistler et al., 2002).

Results presented by this study also show four metabolites derived from radio-labeled Astaxanthin in cultured hepatocytes and human plasma from two volunteers who had taken 100 mg Astaxanthin orally 24 hours before blood collection. As in the rat model, Astaxanthin was identified in human hepatocytes as an inducer of several cytochrome P-450 enzymes, though not all.

These results indicate that Astaxanthin induces detoxifying enzymes in human liver cells, which do not participate in Astaxanthin's degradation…"