Table 3.

Health benefits of natural astaxanthin when used as food.

Health Benefit	Conditions Studied	Comments	Reference
Protecting against lipid peroxidation	Two 4-mg astaxanthin (Astaxin®) capsules daily for 3 months	Astaxanthin consumption decreased the plasma levels of 12- and 15-fatty acids of healthy non-smoking men	[69]
Decreasing TG levels and increasing HDL-cholesterol	12 mg·day−1 astaxanthin for 12 weeks	Non-obese subjects with fasting serum triglyceride of 120–200 mg/dL and without diabetes and hypertension, aged 25–60 years.	[70]
Reducing oxidative stress and reversing age-related morphological changes of skin	4 mg·day−1 astaxanthin for 4 weeks	The study included 31 volunteers (17 men and 14 women) over the age of 40.	[71]
Improving glucose metabolism and reducing blood pressure	8 mg·day−1 astaxanthin for 8 weeks	The study enrolled 44 participants with type 2 diabetes.	[72]
Recovering from mental fatigue	3 mg·day−1 and 5 mg·day−1 of sesamin for 4 weeks	The study included 24 healthy volunteers.	[73]
Protecting against UV-induced skin deterioration	4 mg·day−1 astaxanthin for 10 weeks	The study included 23 healthy participants.	[74]
Maintaining the body’s antioxidant capacity after high-intensity exercise	12 mg·day−1 astaxanthin for 4 weeks	The study enrolled 16 male students.	[75]
Decreasing a DNA damage biomarker and enhancing immune response	2–8 mg·day−1 astaxanthin for 8 weeks	The study included 42 young healthy females.	[76]

Abbreviations: TG, triglycerides; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; UV, ultraviolet.