Background and overview

Astaxanthin is a ketone or carotenoid, pink in color, fat-soluble, insoluble in water, and soluble in organic solvents. It exists widely in the biological world, especially in the feathers of aquatic animals such as shrimps, crabs, fish and birds, and plays a role in color rendering. Astaxanthin is a non-vitamin A source carotenoid that cannot be converted into vitamin A in animals. But astaxanthin is a chain-breaking antioxidant. It has strong antioxidant capacity, can remove NO2, sulfide, disulfide, etc., can also reduce lipid peroxidation, and effectively inhibit the lipid peroxidation of astaxanthin caused by free radicals.

According to reports, astaxanthin has many physiological functions such as inhibiting tumor occurrence, enhancing immunity, and removing free radicals in the body. It has a good therapeutic effect on skin cancer caused by ultraviolet rays, and also has a preventive effect on eye diseases caused by diabetes. , medicine, cosmetics, food additives and aquaculture have broad application prospects. In addition to biological extraction, astaxanthin can also be produced by chemical synthesis, algae, bacteria and yeast. In addition, the application of DNA recombination technology to construct high-yield astaxanthin genetic engineering is also under study.

  Source

1. Artificial synthesis
Astaxanthin is the end point of carotenoid synthesis. B-carotene needs to add 2 hydroxyl groups and 2 ketone groups to be converted into astaxanthin, and artificial chemical synthesis is difficult. Astaxanthin has 3 isomers, 3s.3'S, 3R-3'S, 3R, 3'R (also known as levorotatory, meso, dextrorotatory), among which, synthetic astaxanthin is a mixture of 3 structures. body, with very little antioxidant activity.

2. Biological origin
Natural astaxanthin mainly exists in algae, yeast, salmon, trout, shrimp, etc. Astaxanthin from biological sources is safe to use, has environmental friendliness, and has broad development prospects. At present, natural astaxanthin is mainly produced by microbial fermentation. Microorganisms that can produce astaxanthin include: Phaffia, two strains of bacteria that assimilate hydrocarbons, and green algae that grow in a nitrogen-deficient environment.

Haematococcus pluvialis is an important astaxanthin-producing bacteria. It is the organism with the most abundant astaxanthin in nature. The astaxanthin content can reach 3.0% of the dry weight, accounting for about 90% of the total carotenoid. % or more, known as the "concentrated product" of natural astaxanthin. Moreover, algae-derived astaxanthin is 100% levorotatory and has strong biological activity. Different growth environments of Haematococcus pluvialis will also affect its astaxanthin content. For example, in an environment lacking nitrogen sources, a large amount of astaxanthin can be accumulated. In addition, Haematococcus pluvialis has strong viability, fast growth rate, high temperature resistance and easy outdoor cultivation, which has great potential in the large-scale production of astaxanthin.

  Biological Activity 

1. Antioxidant activity
The normal aerobic metabolism of the body will produce free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS), because they contain unpaired electrons, are extremely unstable, and have strong biological activity. Excessive oxidized molecules will occur with proteins, lipids and DNA. chain reaction, causing oxidative damage. Astaxanthin is a powerful quencher of singlet oxygen, can scavenge oxygen free radicals, and is a powerful antioxidant.

By comparing the effects of astaxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, B-carotene and lycopene on the concentration of membrane lipid hydrogen peroxide generated under the action of polyunsaturated fatty acids, non-polar carotenoids such as lycopene And B-carotene increases lipid peroxide levels by 85% and promotes oxidant damage to cellular lipid bilayers, while astaxanthin reduces lipid peroxide levels by 40%.

An animal study fed Haematococcus pluvialis powder to rats showed that the concentrations of catalase, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, etc. in plasma and liver cells were significantly increased. 8-Hydroxyguanine can be used as a marker of DNA oxidative damage, B. carotene, zeaxanthin, lycopene and astaxanthin can reduce the level of oxidized guanosine.

2. Anti-inflammatory activity
Astaxanthin has a powerful antioxidant effect, which can play an indirect anti-inflammatory effect by regulating the balance between free radicals and antioxidants in the body. Helicobacter pylori infection can cause inflammation of the gastric mucosa. After infection, it is generally difficult for the body to clear it and become a chronic infection. Moreover, Helicobacter pylori infection can increase the risk of gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer and even gastric cancer. It has been reported that an algal diet rich in astaxanthin can inhibit Helicobacter pylori infection and reduce the degree of gastric inflammation in BALB/e mice.

An 8-week, double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial selected healthy adult women as the research subjects. The results showed that astaxanthin could significantly reduce the level of DNA damage markers and the plasma C-reactive protein concentration, confirming that shrimp. Anti-inflammatory effects of cyanidin on the human body.

3. Prevention of atherosclerosis-related diseases
Oxidative stress and inflammation are important pathophysiological features of atherosclerotic heart disease, and the potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of astaxanthin also suggest its potential anti-atherosclerotic effect. Oxidation of low density lipoprotein (LDL) is an important cause of arteriosclerosis, while high density lipoprotein (HDL) is negatively correlated with the risk of coronary heart disease. High levels of HDL can prevent atherosclerosis. Studies have shown that astaxanthin can significantly increase HDL and reduce LDL levels, so astaxanthin may have a certain preventive effect on arteriosclerosis and coronary atherosclerotic heart disease.

4. Anticancer activity
Cancer is a disease with multiple pathogenic factors, and its pathogenesis is related to factors such as heredity, exposure to carcinogens, oxidative damage, and gene mutation. The effect of adding astaxanthin in the feed on the formation of colon cancer in rats caused by the carcinogen azomethane oxide was studied. The results showed that astaxanthin could significantly reduce the incidence of colon cancer and inhibit the development of aberrant crypt lesions. form and inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells. The study found that astaxanthin can prevent the occurrence of chemical-induced hamster cheek pocket tumors, and the mechanism may be related to the activation of Nrf2/Keap.1 signaling pathway.

In addition, astaxanthin can inhibit the growth of breast cancer, while other carotenoids such as B. carotene and canthaxanthin do not have this function. In conclusion, more and more studies have shown that astaxanthin has tumor suppressor and anti-cancer effects, which are mainly reflected in astaxanthin preventing tumor occurrence, inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, promoting tumor cell apoptosis, inhibiting tumor metastasis, enhancing immunity, increase intercellular communication, etc.

5. Enhance immune function
The cell membrane contains polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are prone to lipid peroxidation, which leads to changes in the fluidity and permeability of cell membranes, and ultimately changes the structure and function of cells. Due to its unique molecular structure, astaxanthin can be inserted into lipids. Therefore, compared with B carotene and vitamin C, it can better inhibit lipid peroxidation on the cell membrane and protect the structure of the cell membrane. Immune cells are very sensitive to free radical damage, and free radicals can promote the degradation of macrophage cell membranes and impair their phagocytic function. Antioxidants, especially astaxanthin, protect the immune system from free radical damage.

Pei Lingpeng et al. found that astaxanthin can increase the organ index and tumor inhibition rate of the immune organs of S180 tumor-bearing mice, and can significantly increase the percentage of T lymphocytes and enhance their immune function. Chen Liwu et al. also showed through animal experiments that astaxanthin can increase the number of spleen cells and enhance its killing effect on tumor cells. For primary cultured lymphocytes, astaxanthin can promote lipopolysaccharide-induced interferon production. Animal experiments also show that astaxanthin can increase IL-2 production and promote lipopolysaccharide-induced lymphocyte proliferation.

And studies have suggested that astaxanthin can enhance the immune response of spleen cells to antigens, enhance the production of antibodies, promote the proliferation of mitogen-induced lymphocytes, enhance the cytotoxicity of NK cells, and increase T lymphocytes and T lymphocytes in peripheral blood. The total number of B lymphocytes. A cell experiment also confirmed that astaxanthin can promote the proliferation of spleen cells and thymocytes, especially significantly enhance the production of polyclonal antibodies by spleen cells, and promote the release of tumor necrosis factor OL and interleukin. Therefore, astaxanthin can promote immune cells. Proliferative and immune-enhancing effects.

6. Others
Astaxanthin can improve bone quality, inhibit the occurrence of ovariectomized osteoporosis in rats, and has an estrogen-like effect.


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