Lee Swanson Research Update

Study Supports Astaxanthin’s Immune-Boosting Power

May 2010

Daily supplements of astaxanthin—the pigment that gives salmon its pink color—may protect DNA from damage and boost the immune response in healthy young women.

The results were noted in a new study that is reported to be the first comprehensive study to investigate if astaxanthin may regulate immune response, oxidative damage and inflammation, say researchers from Washington State University and Inha University in Korea.

Astaxanthin’s main benefits are eye and skin health, although it has also been linked to joint health and central nervous system health and is said to have an antioxidant payload 500 times that of vitamin E.

Led by Washington State’s Boon Chew, the researchers recruited 42 young women with an average age of 21.5 and randomly assigned them to one of three groups: The first group received placebo capsules, the second and third groups received astaxanthin supplements providing a daily dose of two or eight milligrams.

After eight weeks of supplementation, the researchers noted that astaxanthin levels in the blood increased significantly in both astaxanthin groups, but not in the control group. Furthermore, a marker of DNA damage—8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG)—was 32% and 43% lower in the two and eight milligram astaxanthin groups, respectively, compared with placebo.

Reductions in levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation, were also significantly lower following supplementation with the carotenoid.

With regards to the immune system, women who received the astaxanthin supplements experienced increases in the activity of their natural killer cells, without increasing the population of these cells. On the other hand, levels of both T and B cells increased, said the researchers.

"Therefore, dietary astaxanthin decreases a DNA damage biomarker and acute phase protein, and enhances immune response in young healthy females," the researchers stated.

Nutrition & Metabolism Published online ahead of print.

 

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