Astaxanthin is a typical terpene compound, belonging to oxygen-containing carotenoids. Astaxanthin is widely present in the biological world, especially in the feathers of aquatic animals such as shrimp, crabs, fish, and birds. Astaxanthin has important biological activities, mainly manifested in coloring function, high antioxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, and many other effects. Therefore, it is widely used in medicine, feed, cosmetics, food, and aquaculture.
|
|
|
Source of astaxanthin
Common sources of natural astaxanthin are algae, red yeast, salmon, trout, krill, shrimp, and crayfish, among others. In recent years, the market demand for microbial-derived natural astaxanthin has been rapidly increasing, and microbial production of natural astaxanthin has attracted close attention.
- There are two main ways for microorganisms to produce astaxanthin:
(1) Use algae to produce astaxanthin:
① Select algae species: Select algae that can produce astaxanthin, such as Haematococcus Pluvialis.
② Create a suitable environment: Under suitable growth conditions, Haematococcus pluvialis grows and reproduces rapidly with flagellated swimming cells. When conditions become harsh, the swimming cells of Haematococcus pluvialis lose their flagella, thicken their cell walls, and accumulate a large amount of red material, causing the cells to enter a dormant state.
③ Add nutrients: Adding ferrous iron ions during the culture process can promote the synthesis of astaxanthin.
④ Light induction: Irradiating Haematococcus pluvialis with blue light can induce it to synthesize astaxanthin. The higher the intensity of light, the higher the production of astaxanthin and the effect of continuous light is better than intermittent light.
⑤ Extraction of astaxanthin: Use appropriate solvents to extract astaxanthin from algae. Haematococcus pluvialis can accumulate astaxanthin to about 5% of dry mass, which is currently a relatively good natural astaxanthin production method. However, the growth conditions of Haematococcus pluvialis are extremely harsh, with high requirements on water quality, environment, and light, and a long autotrophic cycle, so it is not suitable for large-scale production.
(2) Production of astaxanthin by red yeast fermentation method
① Activation of red Phaffia yeast: First, red Phaffia yeast needs to be activated to restore its activity.
② Inoculation: Inoculate red Phaffia yeast into the culture medium.
③ Fermentation: Fermentation is carried out under a suitable temperature and environment to allow red Phaffia yeast to multiply and synthesize astaxanthin.
④ Centrifugal collection of bacteria: After fermentation, red Phaffia yeast is separated from the culture medium by centrifugation.
⑤ Drying: Dry the collected bacteria.
⑥ Wall breaking treatment: Break the cell wall of red Phaffia yeast by physical or chemical methods to release astaxanthin.
⑦ Extraction: Use the appropriate solvent to extract astaxanthin from red Phaffia yeast.
⑧ Concentration: Concentrate the extracted astaxanthin by evaporation and other methods.
⑨ Analysis of extracted astaxanthin: Finally, the purity and content of astaxanthin are determined by analytical means.
Application of Astaxanthin
- Application of Astaxanthin in the pharmaceutical industry
Our human retina is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, and the central nervous system is also rich in unsaturated fatty acids. The free radicals produced by oxidation can easily cause peroxidation of retinal cells and the central nervous system, leading to damage to the body. Studies have shown that astaxanthin can easily pass through the cell membrane and the blood-brain barrier because of its special molecular structure that is insoluble in water. It can protect the central nervous system by strongly removing oxidative free radicals and ultimately play a role in protecting the brain. By directly removing oxidative free radicals in cells, the regenerative capacity of cells can be effectively enhanced, the functional balance of the human body can be maintained, and the accumulation of aging cells in the body can be reduced, protecting the health of cells and DNA from the inside out; removing oxidative free radicals in cells in the body to prevent damage to the rods and cones in the retina, the effect of astaxanthin in treating macular degeneration is better than that of lutein.
- Application of Astaxanthin in the Cosmetics Industry
Astaxanthin plays an antioxidant role in cosmetics. It can remove free radicals in cells, enhance cell regeneration, maintain the body's balance, and reduce the accumulation of aging cells. Therefore, using skin care products containing astaxanthin can alleviate skin aging problems, reduce wrinkles, and improve dullness. In addition, astaxanthin also has strong antioxidant properties and can help solve any skin oxidation problems. Because our skin is facing various radiation and oxidation every day, if we don't take good protective measures, it will easily lead to skin aging. At this time, astaxanthin can be used to help delay aging and keep the skin in a vibrant state for a long time.
Haematococcus pluvialis extract is another cosmetic additive ingredient. It is also rich in nutrients, mainly astaxanthin has a strong antioxidant effect, and helps delay skin aging. Therefore, if the purchased product contains more "Haematococcus pluvialis extract", then this product also has the same effect as astaxanthin to a certain extent.
- Application of astaxanthin in the food industry
(1) Food additives: Astaxanthin can be used as a food additive to improve the color, antioxidant properties, nutritional value, etc. of food. For example, in the processing of aquatic products such as shrimp, crab, and fish, adding an appropriate amount of astaxanthin can maintain their original color, enhance antioxidant capacity, and extend the shelf life of the product. In addition, astaxanthin can also be used as a nutritional enhancer and added to foods such as biscuits and beverages to improve the nutritional value of the product.
(2) Health care function: As a powerful antioxidant, astaxanthin has multiple health care functions such as anti-aging, anti-cancer, and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, astaxanthin is widely used in the field of health care products, such as astaxanthin soft capsules, astaxanthin oral liquid, and other products.
- Application of astaxanthin in aquaculture
First, astaxanthin can be used as a feed additive for aquatic animals. By using its coloring effect, it can improve the meat quality, reproductive capacity, and survival rate of aquatic animals. This is mainly because astaxanthin can be used as a natural colorant to give aquatic products a unique red or yellow color while improving the immunity of aquatic animals.
For example, using astaxanthin as a hormone can promote the fertilization of fish eggs, reduce embryonic mortality, accelerate individual growth, and increase the maturity of fish. Adding astaxanthin-producing red Phaffia yeast fragments to fish bait, after salmon and sturgeon eat the bait, astaxanthin usually accumulates in the skin and meat of the fish, making the fish appear red. Compared with fish that do not eat astaxanthin, these fish have brighter colors, rich nutrition, and better taste, and are very popular with consumers in the European and American markets. The price of fish rich in astaxanthin is also much more expensive than ordinary fish. However, due to the huge market demand, the aquaculture industry of sturgeon and salmon in European and American countries is still developing rapidly. The content of astaxanthin in sockeye salmon should reach 5-20 mg/kg fresh weight, and the bait containing 40-150 mg/kg astaxanthin is the basic standard for sockeye salmon. In this way, the astaxanthin content required by sockeye salmon every year can reach hundreds of thousands of tons, with a total value of hundreds of millions of dollars, which has a very broad prospect.
Secondly, astaxanthin also has antioxidant and anti-stress effects. It is a powerful antioxidant that can remove oxygen free radicals, protect the structure of cell membranes, reduce the permeability of cell membranes, and thus limit the entry of peroxide-initiating molecules. Therefore, astaxanthin can improve the ability of aquatic animals to resist salt concentration stress and high-temperature stress and has obvious effects on anti-oxidation and anti-stress.
HSF's NutraColour® Astaxanthin
|
Astaxanthin OS |
5%,10% |
|
Astaxanthin BD |
2.5%,2% |
|
Astaxanthin CWS/CWD |
2% |
For more details, please contact us:
Email: sales@healthfulbio.com
Whatsapp: +86 18992720900