Astaxanthin Improves Cholesterol Profile
Previous studies have reported that astaxanthin, a carotenoid compound that acts as a potent antioxidant, improves dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome in animal models. Hiroshi Yoshida, from Jikei University Kashiwa Hospital (Japan), and colleagues enrolled 61 mildly hyperlipidemic men and women, average age 44 years, in a 12-week long study. The team administered varying doses of astaxanthin as a dietary supplement. While BMI and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels were unaffected by the supplementation, subjects receiving 12 or 18 mg/day of astaxanthin experienced significant increases in HDL (“good”) cholesterol as well as notable decline of triglycerides. The team concludes that: “[This] human study suggests that astaxanthin consumption ameliorates triglyceride and HDL-cholesterol in correlation with increased adiponectin in humans.”
Hiroshi Yoshida, Hidekatsu Yanai, Kumie Ito, Yoshiharu Tomono, Takashi Koikeda, Hiroki Tsukahara, Norio Tada. “Administration of natural astaxanthin increases serum HDL-cholesterol and adiponectin in subjects with mild hyperlipidemia.” Atherosclerosis, Vol. 209, Issue 2, Pages 520-523, April 2010.