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Lee Swanson Research Update
Astaxanthin Shows Potential for Brain Health
March 2011
Daily supplements of astaxanthin—the pigment that gives salmon its pink color—may reduce the abnormal accumulation of compounds associated with dementia, says a new study from Japan.
Twelve weeks of supplementation with astaxanthin were associated with significant reductions in levels of compounds called phospholipid hydroperoxides (PLOOH), known to accumulate abnormally in the red blood cells (erythrocytes) of people with dementia, compared with placebo.
Writing in the British Journal of Nutrition, researchers led by Kiyotaka Nakagawa from Tohoku University report that, since the data shows that astaxanthin is incorporated into the red blood cells as is seen with lutein, the pink pigment may "contribute to the prevention of dementia."
"The present randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human trial shows that when human subjects ingest astaxanthin, it is absorbed, distributed and accumulated in erythrocytes, where it exhibits antioxidative effects (inhibition of erythrocyte PLOOH)," wrote the researchers.
"It is interesting to note that the antioxidative effect observed in the present study was produced by a relatively short-term supplementation with astaxanthin (12 weeks)," they added.
In the new study, thirty healthy subjects aged between 50 and 69 were randomly assigned to receive 0 (placebo) or 6 or 12 mg astaxanthin per day for 12 weeks.
Levels of PLOOH were significantly lower in erythrocytes following astaxanthin supplementation with reductions in the order of about 40% and 50% in the 6 and 12 mg groups, respectively, compared with no significant change in the placebo group.
"In the present study, orally administered astaxanthin was incorporated into erythrocytes and erythrocyte PLOOH levels decreased," wrote the researchers. "On the basis of these points, it seems that similar to lutein, astaxanthin has the potential to act as an important antioxidant in erythrocytes and thereby may contribute to the prevention of dementia.
"This possibility warrants the testing of astaxanthin in other models of dementia with a realistic prospect of its use as a human therapy," they concluded.
British Journal of Nutrition Published online ahead of print.
