Can astaxanthin improve hyperlipidemia symptoms?

 Astaxanthin (astaxanthin) is known as 3, 3 ′ - dihydroxy - β-carotene - 4, 4 ′ - ketone, for the lutein-like carotenoids, naturally occurring in crustaceans (such as shrimp, crab shells), fish (such as salmon), bird feathers and some microalgae. Recent studies have shown that astaxanthin has a strong oxidative function, can effectively quench the body oxidized free radicals and reactive oxygen species, with the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis, inflammation, intervention in diabetes and other aspects of nutritional health care.

 

Astaxanthin has a variety of isomers, it is generally believed that algae-derived levulinic astaxanthin has the highest biological activity in vivo, the U.S. FDA approved natural algae-derived astaxanthin as a nutritional supplement in 1999, and China's Food and Drug Administration also approved in May 2012 the license of Astaxanthin as a health food. Astaxanthin has been widely recognized as an excellent antioxidant/anti-inflammatory agent by the global food and pharmaceutical industries, and is widely used as a functional food. International pharmaceutical giants are also developing astaxanthin derivatives to treat and prevent cardiovascular diseases.

Hyperlipidemia is defined as a condition in which plasma concentrations of lipid components such as TC, TG, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) are above normal and HDL is below normal. The main hazard of hyperlipidemia is atherosclerosis, which leads to many related diseases. The main effects of astaxanthin in ameliorating hyperlipidemia are lowering of TG and elevation of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Fassett RG, in Mar Drugs [3], reviewed a number of reports on the lipid regulation of astaxanthin in animal experiments and clinical studies, and described the potential use of astaxanthin as a future preventive or therapeutic agent for cardiovascular disease (the following studies refer to natural astaxanthin of algal origin). The potential of astaxanthin as a future preventive or therapeutic drug for cardiovascular diseases is also discussed (all astaxanthin in the following studies are natural astaxanthin of algal origin).

 

1 Animal studies on lipid regulation by astaxanthin

Early animal studies have shown that astaxanthin can regulate blood lipids . Luo Renyong et al. reported the effect of astaxanthin on blood lipids in SD rats. The researchers randomly divided SD rats into 4 groups according to total cholesterol levels: low, medium, high, and control, corresponding to 3 increasing concentrations of astaxanthin solution by gavage for 30d. Total cholesterol TC, TG and HDL-C were measured, and the results showed that the TC and TG of the control group were higher than those before the test. In comparison, the TC of all astaxanthin groups was lower than that of the control group. The TG of the medium- and high-dose natural astaxanthin groups was lower than that of the control group, so astaxanthin has a lipid-lowering function. This conclusion was also confirmed by Hussein et al, who showed that astaxanthin could not only increase HDL-C but also improve the quality of blood lipid, and the blood sugar level was lower than that of the control group. Hussein et al. showed that in rat model animals suffering from metabolic syndrome, astaxanthin not only significantly increased the mean HDL-C value, but also significantly improved the level of lipocalin and lowered the plasma level of TG and free fatty acids. In mice, it was found that the addition of astaxanthin significantly reduced liver and plasma TG levels in mice fed high-fat food, and compared with the high-fat food group without astaxanthin, liver weight, liver TG, plasma TG and TC were significantly reduced in obese mice, and the increase in body mass and adipose tissue was also significantly inhibited, which suggests that astaxanthin has a high value for the improvement of hyperlipidemia. These results indicate that astaxanthin has a high value in improving hyperlipidemia.

 

In addition to the above, another study reported that astaxanthin significantly reduced oxidized low-density lipoprotein (Ox-LDL). In this study, normal rats were induced with streptozotocin (STZ), which induced a complex over-oxidative stress and vascular endothelial dysfunction, increasing serum Ox-LDL and aortic malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, while astaxanthin significantly reduced serum Ox-LDL and aortic MDA levels.Yang et al. also demonstrated that astaxanthin can significantly improve lipid metabolism and cholesterol metabolism. Yang et al. also reported that astaxanthin significantly improved lipid metabolism and cholesterol metabolism. Although β-carotene is a carotenoid, it does not cause changes in plasma cholesterol.

 

2 Clinical studies on the regulation of blood lipids by astaxanthin

Yoshida et al. 2010 reported that astaxanthin can significantly regulate blood lipids, the researchers adopted a randomized, double-blind model, selecting 61 volunteers aged 20-65 years without obesity (BMI<25kg/m2), and gave astaxanthin (0, 6, 12, 18mg/d) for 12 weeks, the study showed that after taking astaxanthin, TG was significantly reduced by 30%, HDL-C and lipocalin were significantly increased by 30%-40%, and lipocalin changes were correlated with HDL-C changes. The study showed that TG was significantly reduced by about 30%, HDL-C and lipocalin were significantly increased by 30%-40%, and the changes in lipocalin were positively correlated with the changes in HDL-C in the experimental group after the administration of astaxanthin. In this study, it was also found that body mass index (BMI) and LDL-C were not significantly affected before and after the trial (in all of the above dose groups), and that changes in TG, HDL-C, and lipocalin were independent of age and BMI.

 

Consistent with this finding, a study by Choi et al. in obese volunteers showed that astaxanthin also significantly reduced LDL and ApoB, further suggesting that astaxanthin is a good regulator of blood lipids regardless of whether one is obese or not. Earlier studies have also reported that astaxanthin significantly increased total antioxidant status, HDL levels, and TG concentrations in the blood. In their study, 15 healthy menopausal women were divided into three groups, one control group and two groups were given 2mg and 8mg/day of astaxanthin respectively. After eight weeks of administration, it was found that HDL concentration in the 2mg group increased from (50.6 ± 5 . 8) mg/dL to (50.6 ± 5 . 8) mg/dL. 8) mg/dL to (60 .4 ± 7 . 1) mg/dL , corresponding to an increase from (44 .4 ± 10 .7) mg/dL to (49 .4 ± 2 .7) mg/dL in the 8-mg group; TG concentrations in the 2-mg group declined from) (171 .6 ± 67 .4) mg/dL to (145 .8 ± 5 .1) mg/dL . (171.6±67.4) mg/dL to (145.8±5.1) mg/dL in the 2-mg group, with significant differences in all results. It was also reported that astaxanthin significantly reduced the levels of 12- and 15-hydroxy fatty acids in the body, indicating that astaxanthin can significantly reduce free fatty acids.

 

In addition to the above clinical studies, Iwamoto et al. reported that astaxanthin also significantly inhibited low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation in a study of 24 volunteers who received astaxanthin (1.8, 3.6, 14.4, and 21.6 mg/d for 2 weeks), and the study showed a significant prolongation of low LDL oxidation time. The fourth edition of Internal Medicine has made it clear that the core cause of atherosclerosis is not LDL but oxidized low-density lipoprotein (Ox-LDL), and therefore astaxanthin's inhibition of the oxidation of LDL to Ox-LDL is even more significant in the inhibition of atherosclerosis.

 

3 Summary

Both animal studies and randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical studies in human beings have fully demonstrated that astaxanthin can significantly improve hyperlipidemia, specifically by raising HDL and lowering TG and Ox-LDL. Compared with existing lipid-lowering statins and fibrates, natural astaxanthin of algal origin does not have any toxic side effects, and has a higher degree of safety, so astaxanthin has the potential of becoming a drug (safe prophylactic drug) to improve hyperlipidemia. Therefore, astaxanthin is expected to be a potential drug (safe preventive drug) to improve hyperlipidemia.

 

References:

[1] WU Wanqiang,LIU Xuebo . Research progress of astaxanthin biofunctions[J] . Agricultural Products Processing, 2012(9):91-96.

[2] Riccioni G. Marine Carotenoids and Cardiovascular Risk Markers [J].Mar Drugs,2011,9(7):1166-1175.

[3] Fassett RG,Coombes JS.Astaxanthin:a potential therapeutic agent in cardiovascular disease[J]. Mar Drugs,2011,9(3):447-465.

[4] LUO Ren-Yong, ZENG Yong-Lan. Experimental study on lipid-lowering function of natural astaxanthin soft capsules[J]. Modern Preventive Medicine,2009,36(4):731-732.