Often referred to as the “king of carotenoids”, astaxanthin is touted as one of the most powerful antioxidants, with 6,000 times the potency of vitamin C and 100 times that of vitamin E.
Sourced from the algae Hematococcus pluvialis, astaxanthin isresponsible for the pink or red coloring of flamingos, salmon, shrimpand other crustaceans. The antioxidant was first described bynaturalists in the 1890s and isolated and characterized by Germanchemists in the 1930s, with a plethora of studies since published on itspotential benefits for brain, liver and ocular health.
“Astaxanthin possesses a double whammy of benefits in regard tomatrix health,” Dr. Mark Miller, a biomedical researcher and presidentof Kaiviti Consulting, told Nutralngredients. “Its potency as a freeradical scavenger is unmatched in nature.
Indeed, astaxanthin has emerged as a potential anti-aging solutiondue to its ability to neutralize reactive oxygen species (ROS) andreactive nitrogen species (RNS), thereby lowering oxidative damage.
Beyond its potential healthy-aging properties, research suggests it
could have cosmetic benefits, too. The most researched aestheticbenefits focus the antioxidant’ s ability to support healthy skin.
History of astaxanthin
In 1988, AstaReal pioneered large scale cultivation of Haematococcuspluvialis, becoming the world’s leading producer and innovator ofnatural astaxanthin, and went on to launch the first human nutritionalastaxanthin supplement in 1995.
Over the years, science around the ingredient has continued to build,and it was listed as one of the top compounds in human skin health research on the 2024 American Academy of Dermatology ranking.
“Astaxanthin provides a proven scientific approach to comprehensivehealthy aging and beauty from within,” Dr. Karen Hecht, vice presidentof science at AstaReal, told Nutralngredients. “It safeguards the skin’stop layer from environmental factors, aids in preserving hyaluronic acidand elastin, supports collagen production and protects skin cells fromoxidative damage and can be used as a synergistic enhancement toother collagen-boosting ingredients.”
Dr. Miller says the antioxidant can provide a variety of benefits, from targeting fine lines and wrinkles to reducing the appearance of hyperpigmentation.
“Astaxanthin is lipophilic, which is ideal for concentrating in the outerlayers of skin, keeping the disruptive forces of UV radiation at its initial target,” he explained.
“It also limits the activation of melanocytes, the cells that make thepigment, melanin. As a result, it suppresses the generation of agespots, or areas of hyperpigmentation. Other clinical research in skinhealth reflects improved hydration, elasticity, and visibly fewer fine linesand wrinkles.”
Can astaxanthin reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines?
Two studies published in the journal Acta Biochimica Polonica haveexplored astaxanthin’s ability to improve fine lines and wrinkles.
The first study involved 36 male participants who were randomized intotwo groups. One received 6 mg of astaxanthin for six weeks and theother a placebo.
By the end of the study, those in astaxanthin group saw improvements in the appearance of crow’s feet, skin elasticity and transepidermalwater loss. Moisture content and sebum oil level at the cheek zone also showed strong tendencies for improvement.
The second study was an open-label non-controlled study involving 30healthy female subjects who were given one capsule of astaxanthintwice a day in addition to a twice-daily topical application.
After eight weeks, participants in the intervention arm showedimprovements in skin surface (reduced appearance of crow’s feet), agespot size, elasticity, skin texture, corneocyte condition and moisture content at this layer.
“These results may suggest that astaxanthin derived from H. pluvialiscan improve skin condition in all layers such as corneocyte layer,epidermis, basal layer and dermis by combining both oralsupplementation and topical treatment, and oral supplementation ofastaxanthin can improve the skin condition in not only women but alsomen,” wrote the authors from AstaReals’ parent company Fuji ChemicalIndustry, Japan.
Astaxanthin for skin elasticity and moisture
Beyond wrinkles and fine lines, skin aging manifests as degradation of elasticity, age spots and moisture content.
To investigate whether astaxanthin could mitigate these signs of skindamage and aging, researchers for AstaReal in Toyama, Japan,recruited 65 healthy female participants for a 16-week clinical study.
Participants consumed either a daily 6 mg or 12 mg dose of astaxanthinor a placebo. The study took place between August and December, aperiod during which exposure to strong UV radiation is followed by adecrease in humidity, resulting in a decline in skin barrier function andincreased skin dryness.
At week 16, the researchers reported significant worsening of skinmoisture content and deep wrinkles in the placebo group, while theastaxanthin-supplemented groups remained unchanged. Skin elasticityimprovements were also observed in the high-dose group compared toplacebo, suggesting a protective effect.
“Long-term astaxanthin supplementation may prophylactically inhibit skin deterioration induced over time by environmental damage andconsequently [slow] the skin aging process via its anti-inflammatoryeffect,” the researchers wrote in the Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition.
Does astaxanthin offer UV protection?
While evidence suggests that astaxanthin can protect the skin fromenvironmental factors, researchers have also begun to look at whetherit could protect the skin from sun damage inflicted by ultraviolet light.
Astaxanthin supplementation has been shown to protect the skin fromUV-induced skin deterioration in a 10-week study double-blindplacebo-controlled study involving 23 healthy participants. Using aSolar Stimulator, the researchers exposed the participants’ back skin toUV-B then analyzed for UV-induced changes.
Astaxanthin appeared to increase the Minimal Erythema Dose (MED) and attenuate the UV-induced decrease of skin moisture. Its ability toincrease the MED meant the participants’ skin was less sensitive to UVdamage, suggesting it may protect skin from harmful UV rays.
The researchers from Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Research Laboratories in Kanagawa, Japan, also assessed for subjective skin conditions using the visual analogue scale.
“Subjective skin conditions for ‘improvement of rough skin’ and ‘texture’ in non-irradiated areas were significantly improved by astaxanthin,”they wrote in Nutrients. “Astaxanthin seems protective against UV-induced skin deterioration and helps maintain healthy skin in healthy people.”
Another study published in the European Journal of Biomedical Research found that the addition of astaxanthin to sunscreen inhibitedthe increase in sunburn cells in rats, indicating a potentially protective effect.
“Sunscreen is not an antioxidant, which means it can still cause theimpact of free radicals,” wrote the researchers from UdayanaUniversity, Indonesia. “Sunscreen also has protection limits. Forexample, SPF 30 has 97% protection, which means that there is still 3%radiation entering the skin so there is still a small portion that can causefree radicals.”
Can astaxanthin promote tanning?
More recently, astaxanthin has also been incorporated in products topromote tanning, however, Dr. Miller said it is more likely to have the opposite effect.
“The goal of tanning is to promote melanin formation, the pigment for skin color,” he explained. “Astaxanthin limits the activation ofmelanocytes and would limit tanning-and its cadre of negative effectson skin health-rather than promoting a tan.”
Susan Hamrahi, scientific communications specialist at AstaReal agreesthat astaxanthin is unlikely to have tanning properties, adding that the strong pigment may contribute to skin color changes at high doses.
“Astaxanthin does not stimulate melanin synthesis and thus does notinduce tanning,” she said. “However, some carotenoids havecontributed a yellow hue to skin as a result of supplementation at higher doses.”
“Visual changes in skin tone resulting from carotenoid deposition havebeen documented with B-carotene and lycopene supplementation,” sheadded. “However, these effects are not melanogenic and do not involveactivation of the melanocortin-1 receptor pathway, which governs UV-induced tanning. While B-carotene and lycopene are known to causevisible skin tone changes, no clinical or observational data currentlysupports a similar effect with astaxanthin.”
Natural or synthetic?
Dr. Miller says that astaxanthin’s ability to limit activation ofmelanocytes is beneficial for the skin, particularly for those withhyperpigmentation or age spots, but highlighted the efficacy of naturalastaxanthin supplements.
“Some [astaxanthin supplements] come from other sources like yeastor petrochemicals, but these do not possess the same stereochemistryand do not work the same as natural astaxanthin,” he explained.”Natural is a straight molecule with two polar ends and an aliphaticchain that separates them.’
“The structure is perfect for anchoring in membranes with the aliphaticchain in the lipid part of membranes where it captures pileup peroxides,or rancid lipids, and negates these free radicals without forming anyother free radicals. This is a unique action that separates astaxanthinfrom other free radical scavengers and membrane function protectors.”