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Medical News Today
2 days ago
- Health
- Medical News Today
What is astaxanthin?
Astaxanthin is a red-orange pigment that occurs naturally in certain plants, algae, and sea life. It has anti-inflammatory properties that may benefit brain, skin, and eye health, and suggests that astaxanthin has various beneficial properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective may have positive effects on various health concerns, including natural skin aging, declining brain health, eye diseases, and more. However, more research may be necessary to fully understand these benefits of astaxanthinBelow are some potential health benefits of health and cognitive functionA 2023 review highlights that astaxanthin's chemical structure allows it to cross the blood-brain barrier and reach a person's review suggests that astaxanthin can activate certain genetic pathways and the regeneration and growth of adult brain nerve cells. Its anti-inflammatory properties may also help to limit neuroinflammation, which research associates with to a 2024 review, astaxanthin is also a potent antioxidant. Oxidative stress can contribute to the following effects:neurodegeneration, which is a progressive loss of brain nerve cellscognitive aging, which refers to the natural changes in a person's ability to think, remember, and learn as they agecognitive decline, which refers to the loss of ability to think, learn, and rememberThe review suggests astaxanthin has positive effects on cognitive function. Studies in the review suggest it may help slow neurodegeneration and help to protect brain nerve cells from oxidative stress.A 2020 review also suggests astaxanthin's anti-inflammatory properties may offer benefits against certain neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's agingAstaxanthin's anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and photoprotective effects may offer various benefits for skin health.A 2021 review suggests astaxanthin supplementation ranging from 3 to 6 milligrams daily may protect against UV-induced skin damage and improve the following skin features:moisture contentwrinkles and fine linestextureHowever, the review authors note that the study sizes and participant diversity were limited. More research is necessary to understand the full therapeutic research in a 2020 review suggests that astaxanthin may help to reduce itching and the skin severity score in atopic dermatitis. However, more research is necessary to see if these effects extend to healthA 2020 review suggests that astaxanthin's anti-inflammatory effects may offer benefits for certain gastrointestinal conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease and stomach oxidative stress and inflammation can increase the risk of certain gastric conditions, including ulcers and certain cancers. Astaxanthin's antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties may help explain its protective effects against these health A 2020 review suggests that astaxanthin may have the potential to prevent and treat various eye conditions, including:uveitiscataractsasthenopia, also known as eye fatigue or strainretinal diseases, such as diabetic retinopathyocular surface disorders, such as dry eye diseaseglaucomaage-related macular degenerationMore research is necessary to fully understand this therapeutic recoveryA 2024 review suggests astaxanthin may be a beneficial supplement for athletes by helping reduce excessive oxidative stress during exercise. In particular, it may help to improve:endurance performancesubstrate metabolismlactate clearanceexercising heart raterecoveryHowever, the researchers conclude that current evidence is mixed and further research in humans is healthA 2024 review suggests that astaxanthin may improve the outcomes of assisted reproductive technology, ovarian function, and oocyte maturation. Oocytes are developing eggs in the effects may be due to astaxanthin's beneficial effects on oxidative stress, inflammation, and cell death.A 2022 study suggests these effects may also improve testosterone levels and reduce sperm cell death in more research is necessary to fully prove and understand these effects in astaxanthin safe?Astaxanthin is generally safe, and studies have reported that people tend to tolerate an acute (short-term) intake of up to 40 mg daily, with only some mild adverse effects occurring within two days of this Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepts daily doses of astaxanthin supplements for humans ranging from 2 to 12 mg, but as high as 24 mg for up to 30 is a good idea to speak with a healthcare professional before trying any new supplements. Supplements can vary in quality and may interact with certain someone wishes to increase their astaxanthin intake, a healthcare professional may suggest increasing dietary sources.»Learn more:Vitamins, minerals, and supplementsHow to add astaxanthin to the dietNatural sources of astaxanthin include:seaweedsalgaeyeastsalmonkrilltroutshrimpcrayfishAdding these sources to a person's regular diet may help to improve their intake of out the following recipes to add more astaxanthin to the diet:Caesar shrimp tacosketo smoked trout and herb frittataone pan salmon and roasted veggies with quinoabaked trout with tangy tomato and lentil saladThai shrimp fried riceFrequently asked questionsWhere does astaxanthin come from?Astaxanthin is a type of red-orange pigment that occurs naturally in various sources, including algae, certain plants, and some sea life, such as salmon, trout, and is a type of red-orange pigment that occurs naturally in various sources, including algae, certain plants, and some sea life, such as salmon, trout, and astaxanthin safe to take with medications?Artificial astaxanthin has a different chemical composition from natural astaxanthin. People should always speak with a healthcare professional before taking astaxanthin supplements to ensure there is no interaction with any current example, a 2019 case report suggests a potential interaction between astaxanthin supplements and warfarin, a blood-thinning astaxanthin has a different chemical composition from natural astaxanthin. People should always speak with a healthcare professional before taking astaxanthin supplements to ensure there is no interaction with any current example, a 2019 case report suggests a potential interaction between astaxanthin supplements and warfarin, a blood-thinning long does it take to see benefits from astaxanthin?The time it takes to see benefits from astaxanthin may depend on a person's reason for taking it and the amount they consume. There is currently no research that states a specific beneficial timeframe for taking astaxanthin time it takes to see benefits from astaxanthin may depend on a person's reason for taking it and the amount they consume. There is currently no research that states a specific beneficial timeframe for taking astaxanthin is a type of red-orange pigment that occurs naturally in certain algae, plants, and sea life. It is also available as a dietary benefits of astaxanthin include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties. These effects may help with brain, skin, gastrointestinal, and reproductive health, although more research is wanting to try astaxanthin supplements should speak with a healthcare professional to reduce the risk of adverse reactions. People can also add dietary sources of astaxanthin to their diet to increase their intake.
Sky News
04-08-2025
- Science
- Sky News
A real-world CSI for sea life: The lab investigating deaths we're all complicit in
It's like real-world CSI, but for sea life. Lying dead on a cold steel slab at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a harbour porpoise, the UK's smallest - but arguably cutest - marine mammal. It's about to be dissected to establish how it died. If there are crimes investigated in this lab, they're the kind we're all complicit in. Dolphins drowned in fishermen's nets; whales deranged by military sonar and driven ashore; porpoises killed by the blunt-force trauma of a speedboat's prow; a few however die due to the most insidious and increasingly abundant scourge at sea: plastic. ZSL biologist Rob Deaville holds up a few metres of tangled rope and fishing line that he removed from the tail of a minke whale that washed up dead in East Yorkshire in 2020. The mess of nylon and polyester, encrusted in goose barnacles, had cut almost halfway through the whale's flukes (the lobes that form a tail), rendering them useless. Unable to dive and therefore feed, the whale starved. "A four-kilogram mass of rope effectively killed a 10-tonne whale," says Mr Deaville. "It's a really horrendous way for that animal to go." The Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP), which Mr Deaville leads, has been running for 30 years. It has recorded more than 20,000 strandings of whales, dolphins, seals and sharks. The 4,500 necropsies they have performed give biologists a rare opportunity to learn more about these elusive animal's lives. Biologists can also learn more about the threats the animals face, whether it's shifting predators and prey linked to climate change, disease outbreaks, chemical pollution or plastics. Large entanglements like the one that killed the minke whale are pretty rare in UK waters, says Mr Deaville. But he worries that as plastic continues to be dumped in the ocean, it will end up more like the enclosed and litter-filled Mediterranean Sea where plastic-related deaths are common. "In a way, the Med is a warning sign," says Mr Deaville. The necropsy of the harbour porpoise is a hard watch. A sad end for this diminutive relative of the dolphin, so far from its natural element, being sliced apart in the name of science. But the gruesome - and smelly - work reveals crucial data and often a cause of death. Our poor harbour porpoise, it turns out, wasn't the victim of plastic pollution, but a violent assault. Examining its ribcage, Mr Deaville points out the split blubber and broken ribs characteristic of a fatal blow from the beak of a bottlenose dolphin. For reasons as-yet unknown to science, dolphins often attack and kill their smaller cousins. However, samples of tissues and stomach contents from this and thousands of other animals contain evidence of environmental contaminants, including microplastics, the most insidious form of plastic pollution. A recent study by ZSL and the University of Exeter on the stomach contents of whales and dolphins stranded on UK shores found microplastics in the stomachs of all of them. Other studies have found even smaller "nanoplastic" particles in nearly every tissue of sea mammals, from blubber to brain. There's no clear evidence of harm, but microplastics can release toxic chemical additives used in plastic manufacturing, and also act as surfaces on which bacterial "biofilms" grow with unknown affects. Professor Heather Koldewey, a marine biologist at ZSL, says: "We've got these little balls of toxicity that are now floating around the ocean, being ingested by a range of species from the bottom to the top of the food chain. "What we're really starting to unpick now, is what impact is that having." The hard and pretty gruesome work being done here has never been more crucial. Delegates are this week heading to the United Nations in Geneva to resume negotiations towards a Global Plastics Treaty. It's an attempt to try and reduce the unnecessary use of plastic, ensure more recycling and bring an end to the practice of using our seas as a dumping ground for plastic waste. "An ambitious treaty has to start at the production end of plastic," says Prof Koldewey. "When it gets in the ocean [it] is almost impossible to deal with. "If you're thinking about something like a microplastic or a nanoplastic, the same size or smaller than plankton, how can you possibly clean that up out of the ocean?" Scientists hardly need more evidence to prove plastic is a problem. But the work of CSIP and other researchers shows they're only beginning to understand the impact of the mess we've already made. And its one that may persist for centuries. That fact alone, should persuade the world to act faster.
CBC
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
David Attenborough warns we're losing an undersea rainforest every year
David Attenborough's new documentary Ocean examines the destruction of both sea life and livelihoods through the overuse of bottom trawling that uses gigantic nets that swallow everything in their path, only for up to 75 per cent of the animals caught to be discarded.
