Supplementation of astaxanthin in the diet has positive effects on symptoms associated with obesity related diseases. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Effects of astaxanthin in animal models of obesity-associated diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Free Radic Biol Med. 2021 May 8. Epub 2021 May 8. PMID: 33974978
Rosa Paola Radice
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Obesity is a major risk factor for several diseases, including metabolic syndrome (MetS), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). The use of natural products, such as astaxanthin (ASX), a potent antioxidant compound produced by the freshwater green microalga Haematococcus pluvialis, has gained particular interest to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, and to improve redox status, often associated with obesity. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to comprehensively examine the effects of ASX in animal models of diet induced obesity-associated diseases in order to inform the design of future human clinical studies for ASX use as supplement or nutraceutical.
METHODS: Cinahl, Cochraine, MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science were searched for English-language manuscripts published between January 2000 and April 2020 using the following key words: astaxanthin, obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, diabetes mellitus type 2, NAFLD and metabolic.
RESULTS: Seventeen eligible articles, corresponding to 21 animal studies, were included in the final quantitative analysis. ASX, at different concentrations and administered for different length of time, induced a significant reduction in adipose tissue weight (P=0.05) and systolic blood pressure (P<0.0001) in control animals. In animal models of T2D, ASX significantly reduced serum glucose levels (P=0.04); whereas it improved several disease biomarkers in the blood (e.g. cholesterol, triglycerides, ALT and AST, P<0.10), and reduced liver (P=0.0002) and body weight (P=0.11), in animal models of NAFLD.
CONCLUSIONS: Supplementation of ASX in the diet has positive effects on symptoms associated with obesity related diseases in animals, by having lipid-lowering, hypo-insulin and hypoglycaemic capacity, protecting organs from oxidative stress and mitigating the immune system, as suggested in this review.