Table 3.
Effect of H. pluvialis-derived astaxanthin on various physiological systems in human and animal subjects.
| Physiological System | Subject | Effect followed | Main outcome | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-oxidation | Rabbits | Thioredoxin reductase; Paraoxonase activity | Enhanced; No effect | Augusti et al., 2012 |
| Rats | Hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity | Improved | Ranga Rao et al., 2015 | |
| Rats | Antioxidant enzymes, catalase, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and lipid peroxidation in plasma and liver | Increased | Ranga Rao et al., 2010, 2013 | |
| Men (bilateral cataract) | Antioxidative effects through changes in superoxide scavenging activity, and hydroperoxides production in aqueous humor | Enhanced; Suppressed | Hashimoto et al., 2013 | |
| Eye function | 18 healthy men | Deep vision | Improved | Sawaki et al., 2002 |
| 10 healthy men | Eye function | Improved | Iwasaki and Tawara, 2006 | |
| 40 asthenopia patients | Eye accommodation power | Improved | Kenji et al., 2005 | |
| 49 healthy men | Uncorrected far visual acuity | Improved | Nakamura et al., 2004 | |
| 87 men (visual display terminal workers) | Eye accommodation amplitude (the adjustment in the lens of the eye that allows it to focus); | Improved; | Nagaki et al., 2006 | |
| Eye soreness, dryness, tiredness, and blurred vision | Reduced | Nagaki et al., 2002 | ||
| Skin | Healthy female or male | Skin wrinkle, corneocyte layer, epidermis, and dermis | Improved | Tominaga et al., 2012 |
| 46 healthy women | Skin elasticity and moisture | Improved | Seki et al., 2001; Yamashita, 2002 | |
| Immune response | 14 healthy women | Oxidative stress and inflammation markers; Immune response | Reduced; Improved | Park et al., 2010 |
| Inflammation | Rats | Gastrointestinal health | Improved | Nishikawa et al., 2005 |
| Gastric ulcer | H. pylori-infected mice | Bacterial load Gastric inflamation | Reduced | Liu and Lee, 2003 |
| Rats | Gastric ulcer markers | Reduced | Kamath et al., 2008 | |
| 44 patients with functional dyspepsia | Inflammatory markers; gastrointestinal discomfort | No effect; No effect | Andersen et al., 2007; Kupcinskas et al., 2008 | |
| Cardiovascular system | 20 adult men | Blood flow time | Improved | Miyawaki et al., 2008 |
| Men | Blood plasma levels | Reduced | Karppi et al., 2007 | |
| Muscle endurance | 16 non-trained men | Lactic acid accumulation after run | Reduced | Sawaki et al., 2002 |
| 19 non-trained men | Respiratory and sympathetic nervous system activities | Improved | Nagata et al., 2006 | |
| 20 non-trained men | Strength/explosiveness test; strength/endurance test | No effect; Improved | Lignell, 2001 | |
| 20 resistance-trained men | Markers of skeletal muscle injury | No effect | Bloomer et al., 2005 | |
| Cancer | Rats | Growth of colon cancer cells | Inhibited | Palozza et al., 2009 |
| Central nervous system | Healthy mice | Memory | Improved | Zhang et al., 2007 |
| 10 healthy men (50–69 years) | Response time and accuracy of several tasks | Improved | Satoh et al., 2009 | |
| Middle aged/elderly men and women | Cog Health battery scores (Nuropsychological memory test) | Improved | Katagiri et al., 2012 | |
| Male fertility | 20 sub-fertile men | Semen quality, pregnancy rate | Improved | Elgarem et al., 2002 |
| 30 sub-fertile men | Sperm velocity; oxidation markers; pregnancy rate | Improved; Reduced; Improved | Comhaire et al., 2005 | |
| 24 healthy men | Idiopathic infertility | Decreased | Andrisani et al., 2015 | |
| Metabolic Syndrome (MS) | Obese rats | Body weight; adipose tissue weight; MS markers | Reduced; Reduced; Improved | Ikeuchi et al., 2007 |