Astaxanthin

What is Astaxanthin?

Astaxanthin is a keto carotenoid, the chemical name is 3,3′-dihydroxy-4,4′-diketo-β,β′-carotene, red solid powder, fat-soluble, insoluble Water, soluble in organic solvents. It exists widely in the biological world, especially in the feathers of aquatic animals such as shrimps, crabs, fish and birds, and plays a role in color rendering. In addition to the use of biological extraction, it can also be produced by chemical synthesis, algae, bacteria, yeast, etc. In addition, the application of DNA recombination technology to construct high-yield astaxanthin genetic engineering is also under study.

In 1933, a purple-red crystal was extracted from aquatic products such as shrimp and crab, which was later determined to be a carotenoid closely related to astaxanthin, so it was named astaxanthin. It is widely found in shrimp, crabs, fish, birds, some algae and fungi and other organisms. As a non-provitamin A carotenoid, astaxanthin cannot be converted into vitamin A in animals, but has the same antioxidant effect as carotenoids, its ability to quench singlet oxygen and capture free radicals is better than β -Carotene is more than 10 times higher, more than 100 times stronger than vitamin E, people also call it "super vitamin E".

Brief introduction