Astaxanthin----Natural Antioxidant for Neuro-protection

Natural Antioxidant for Neuro-protection,

Vision Enhancement & Skin Rejuvenation

1. Introduction

Aging and degenerative diseases (e.g. cerebral stroke, atherosclerosis, cancer etc.) are inevitable healthcare problems of the modern society. Free radicals have been documented to be the damaging element for health. Stress, irregular lifestyle, unbalance diet & smoking are contributing factors to the generation of free radicals, active oxygen which accelerates the process of ageing. Antioxidants are becoming popular for the health improvement.

Astaxanthin is a naturally occurring carotenoid pigment with excellent antioxidant effect extracted and purified from Haematococcus algae. 

Astaxanthin has been documented to protect against free radicals and promote numerous health functions.

2. Why choose Haematococcus pluvialis as the source of astaxanthin?

Haematococcus pluvialis is the organism with the highest natural astaxanthin content. Under certain conditions, Haematococcus pluvialis can accumulate astaxanthin content of 1% to 3% of the dry cell weight, and the astaxanthin contained therein The left-handed structure with the strongest antioxidant activity has the characteristics of high stability, high purity and high quality. It is regarded as a "concentrate" of natural astaxanthin and the best biological source of natural astaxanthin.

3. Astaxanthin

Astaxanthin is a red-pigment carotenoid occurring naturally in a wide variety of living organisms and classified as a xanthophyll. It has a chemical structure similar to that of the familiar carotenoid -carotene (Fig. 1). It is commonly found in crustaceans (e.g. shrimps, crawfish, crabs and lobster) and produced by microalgae. The pink flesh of a healthy wild salmon is due to the presence of astaxanthin. It has been suggested that astaxanthin protects muscle cells from damaging effects of active oxygen produced upon swimming upstream. Meanwhile, astaxanthin contained in salmon roe is considered to protect the roe from reactive oxygen species generated by UV rays.

The antioxidant of astaxanthin is stronger than -carotene and vitamin E by 40x and 1,000x respectively. Besides, astaxanthin differs from other antioxidants in its ability to penetrate the blood brain and retina barriers. Therefore, it is believed to protect the brain and nervous system from neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. cerebral thrombosis and stroke) and aging. Meanwhile, astaxanthin has been documented to prevent age-related macular

degeneration (AMD) and enhance immune functions. Furthermore, recent studies revealed the wrinkling and moisturizing effect of astaxanthin which suggest its potential cosmeceutical applications in protection against skin aging.

HUNAN HUAKANG BIOTECH INC. has commissioned the production of astaxanthin from Haematococcus algae in high concentration and various dosage forms for applications in nutraceutical, cosmeceuticals, food and feed industries.

4.Product Application