A 2008 study found that taking astaxanthin for as little as 10 days was enough to significantly shorten blood transit time, reducing high blood pressure. It is thought the astaxanthin in the red blood cell membranes helps improve their flexibility. By increasing the bioavailability of nitric oxide through lower oxidative stress, astaxanthin has also been associated with vasodilation and inhibiting platelet clumping that can cause thrombosis.

Intrinsic ageing causes wrinkles, loss of elasticity and pigmentation - all of which are accelerated by oxidative stress. Pretreatment with astaxanthin has been shown to reduce the reactive oxygen species induced by UVB light. Astaxanthin can also effectively reduce skin dehydration by reducing transepidermal water loss, suppress hyperpigmentation and photoaging, and increase skin elasticity. Studies have also shown that astaxanthin can reach all the skin layers from the dermis to the epidermis.

Photoaging is caused mostly by consistent exposure to UV radiation. Knowing that astaxanthin can help accumulate in the dermis means that it can directly support the skin from UV-induced problems.
By strengthening the stratum corneum lipid barrier in the skin and helping maintain the correct intercellular lipid balance, astaxanthin helps reduce inflammatory skin diseases including atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.

Too much unprotected sunlight can result in photoageing which damages collagen fibres and cause uneven pigmentation. UV rays also cause an increase in matrix metalloproteinases which promote protein degradation in the skin. Result = wrinkles and coarse, dry skin. Research found the length and depth of wrinkles were reduced when astaxanthin supplements were taken consistently for over 3 months and skin collagen also increased. By accumulating in the skin over time, astaxanthin is able to reduce UVA-induced wrinkle formation.

Helping skin to recover after a wound is crucial to minimise the risk of infection and restore tissue health. Several studies have shown astaxanthin is an effective supplement to support wound healing. It does this by reducing inflammatory cytokine expression and cell infiltration, allowing the skin tissues to regenerate and repair. Astaxanthin supplementation also demonstrated an upregulation in the production of certain healing white blood cells and also both collagen Type 1 and 3, all of which help to accelerate wound healing.

Dry eyes? We see you. It’s suffered by anywhere between 5-50% of the global population, causing everything from mild discomfort to debilitating ice-pick headaches and impaired vision. Astaxanthin can improve dry eyes and help protect against a recurrence. It does this by reducing iron overload, increasing glutathione, scavenging up the damaging reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxides and rescuing the mitochondria, preventing something called ferroptosis, which is a form of metal-induced toxicity, and enhancing autophagy.

Through its strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, astaxanthin has recently been shown to help reduce chondrocyte ferroptosis - another name for inflammatory injury in chondrocytes. Astaxanthin does this by downregulating the action of interleukin-1β, an inflammatory promoter. In addition, astaxanthin was shown to improve collagen production and even reverse mitochondrial damage caused by the IL-1β. All of this indicates that astaxanthin could be a promising additional support for osteoarthritis and chondrocyte injury.