Printed from https://bottledhope.co/supplements/astaxanthin/. Last reviewed 2026-09-26. Check the site for the latest version.
Astaxanthin
A red-orange pigment made by algae and found in salmon, trout and shellfish. Trials have tested it for skin aging, tired eyes, exercise and cholesterol.
Explained simply · Last reviewed
What it is
Astaxanthin is a red-orange pigment from the carotenoid family. A 2021 review of skin trials explains that algae, bacteria and fungi make it, and that animals such as salmon, trout, crab, lobster and shrimp take it in through their food. It adds that the alga Haematococcus pluvialis is reported to hold the highest levels found in nature, and describes antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in animal studies, which it cautions cannot be directly translated to people.
More about Astaxanthin
A 2021 review of skin trials explains that algae, bacteria and fungi make it, and that animals such as salmon, trout, crab, lobster and shrimp take it in through their food. It adds that the alga Haematococcus pluvialis is reported to hold the highest levels found in nature, and describes antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in animal studies, which it cautions cannot be directly translated to people.
The same review says astaxanthin's red-orange color is what shows in salmon flesh, and that it is widely used to color fish-farm feed. In its 2020 opinion, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), quoting the European Commission, describes astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis as a pink color widely used in food and animal feed, and reports that an astaxanthin-rich extract of the alga was then authorized in food supplements in the European Union. The opinion also describes a synthetic form assessed as a coloring additive for the feed of salmon, trout, other fish and crustaceans.
The skin trials in the 2021 review used astaxanthin from this alga, mostly in oil-based capsules. Beyond skin, trials have tested it for tired eyes, for exercise, and for cholesterol and blood pressure, and its effect on lifespan has been studied in mice. Those questions are what the ratings below are about.
Also known as: Haematococcus pluvialis extract, ASX, ATX
At a glance
Safety: known risks and 1 group who should avoid it or take extra care. See Safety ↓Claims made about Astaxanthin, and how strong the evidence is for each:
- Improves skin moisture and elasticity and reduces wrinklesEvidence rating: Limited
- Eases tired or strained eyes from screen useEvidence rating: Insufficient
- Improves exercise performanceEvidence rating: Limited
- Speeds recovery after exerciseEvidence rating: Limited
- Improves cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressureEvidence rating: Limited
Longevity and aging claims
Claims made about Astaxanthin and aging, and how strong the evidence is for each. A change in a marker is not the same as a longer life.
Each rating follows our published rules and the sources cited for it. We don’t add our own medical judgment. How we rate
Safety
Read this before the ratings below.
Risks
- In an opinion published in 2020, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) assessed one maximum daily amount of astaxanthin from food supplements. It concluded that this amount is safe for adults, even combined with a high intake of astaxanthin from food such as salmon and shellfish. Its conclusion does not cover larger amounts. The amount assessed is given in the EFSA opinion listed in the sources.
- For younger people, EFSA found that the same supplement amount combined with a high intake from food reaches the acceptable daily intake in teenagers aged 14 to under 18, and exceeds it in children under 14.
- EFSA's acceptable daily intake rests on liver changes seen in a two-year study in rats. Its companion panel on animal feed, whose assessment EFSA relied on, found astaxanthin was not mutagenic or carcinogenic.
- A 2024 meta-analysis of five trials in 196 adults found that astaxanthin raised ALT, a liver enzyme, compared with the control groups, and found no significant effect on the other liver enzymes it measured (AST, GGT and alkaline phosphatase). The authors note that only five trials were included, that four of the five were in healthy people, and that all were from Japan and Australia. They call for longer, well-designed trials to confirm this.
- Two reviews of skin supplements report that the trials they included, which typically lasted up to 24 weeks, found the supplements safe. In one of them, two of the three astaxanthin trials reported on safety and both reported no adverse events.
Who should avoid it or take extra care
- Children and teenagers: EFSA's safety conclusion covers adults only, and only the daily supplement amount it assessed. For teenagers aged 14 to under 18, that amount combined with a high intake from food reached the acceptable daily intake. For children under 14, it exceeded it.
Safety sources: Source [1]Source [2]Source [3]Source [4]
What the evidence says
Each claim is rated on its own evidence. Ratings follow the scale on our methodology page.
Improves skin moisture and elasticity and reduces wrinkles Evidence rating: Limited
People take it hoping for firmer, better-moisturised skin with fewer wrinkles.
Three reviews of small trials disagree: one found better skin moisture and elasticity but no significant change in wrinkle depth, and two found the evidence insufficient.
Three reviews disagree. A 2021 meta-analysis pooled eight small randomized trials, with 162 people taking astaxanthin and 131 on placebo. It found improved skin moisture (five trials) and elasticity (six trials), but no statistically significant change in wrinkle depth. Its conclusion also speaks of reduced wrinkles, which its own pooled wrinkle result did not show.
Two of the pooled trials gave astaxanthin together with another antioxidant, one with collagen hydrolysate and one with tocotrienol. The review reports that the tocotrienol trial had the largest effect of any included study. The authors wrote that the strength of the evidence was limited by small samples, imperfect study design and potential conflicts of interest. They note that some of the trials were run or funded by commercial entities.
A 2022 meta-analysis of skin-moisturising supplements pooled three astaxanthin-only trials in 99 people. It found no statistically significant effect on skin water content, and the authors called the evidence insufficient. Its wider analysis, which added two combination products, did find a significant effect. The authors attribute that result possibly to the collagen and tocotrienol in those products.
A 2025 review of supplements for sun-related skin aging found three astaxanthin trials with 102 people and did not pool them. It concluded there is insufficient evidence to support astaxanthin, adding that this should not be read as conclusive evidence against it. None of the three reviews formally grades how sure its findings are (certainty, using the GRADE system). Because the sources disagree, this page takes the lower reading.
Sources: Source [1]Source [2]Source [3]
Eases tired or strained eyes from screen use Evidence rating: Insufficient
People who spend long hours at screens take it hoping to ease tired, strained eyes.
No systematic review was found; one small, company-funded trial found no overall difference from placebo, and reports better visual acuity only in people aged 40 or over.
No systematic review of astaxanthin for eye strain or eye fatigue was found, so this page can point only to an individual trial. In it, 59 healthy Japanese adults who regularly work at screens were analyzed after six weeks. Across all participants there was no significant difference from placebo on any measure. The authors report better visual acuity after screen work only in the subgroup aged 40 or over.
That trial was paid for by a company, and some of its authors are employees of that company or of a company in the same group. With one small, company-funded trial that found no overall difference from placebo, and no review of the evidence, this page rates the claim insufficient.
Sources: Source [1]
Improves exercise performance Evidence rating: Limited
People who train or compete take it hoping to go further, faster or harder.
A 2026 review of randomized trials found no significant improvement in aerobic fitness, time-trial performance or maximal power, and rated each result low certainty.
A 2026 systematic review of 24 randomized trials in healthy people and athletes pooled 12 of them for performance. It found that astaxanthin did not significantly improve aerobic fitness (VO2max), time-trial performance or maximal power output. It rated all three of those results low certainty.
The authors describe the pooled evidence as "limited and inconsistent rather than uniformly negative", since some individual trials reported benefits. They conclude that it does not justify presenting astaxanthin as a reliable performance-enhancing supplement.
The 2026 review's funders include the Peking University Medical–Qingyan Boshi Joint Laboratory for Skin Nutrition and Anti-Aging, alongside public funders. Its authors declare no competing interests.
Sources: Source [1]
Speeds recovery after exercise Evidence rating: Limited
People who exercise hard take it hoping their muscles will recover faster afterwards.
A 2026 review found lower creatine kinase, a marker of muscle damage, at moderate certainty, but no significant effect on oxidative stress or inflammation, both rated very low certainty.
A 2026 meta-analysis of randomized trials in healthy people and athletes measured recovery with blood markers. It found lower creatine kinase, a marker of muscle damage, with astaxanthin (eight comparisons, moderate certainty). It also found lower lactate dehydrogenase (four comparisons, low certainty), with results that varied widely between trials. It found no significant effect on markers of oxidative stress or inflammation, and rated those very low certainty.
Its authors suggest astaxanthin may be more relevant to recovery than to performance. They add that the lactate dehydrogenase finding should be interpreted cautiously.
This page records the claim at very low certainty, the lowest the graded review gives any of its recovery measures. The 2026 review's funders include the Peking University Medical–Qingyan Boshi Joint Laboratory for Skin Nutrition and Anti-Aging, alongside public funders. Its authors declare no competing interests.
Sources: Source [1]
Improves cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure Evidence rating: Limited
People take it hoping to improve their cholesterol and triglycerides and bring their blood pressure down.
Three reviews disagree on cholesterol and triglycerides, with certainty from high to very low where graded; the one that reported on blood pressure found no significant effect.
The reviews disagree, and they rate the same measures very differently. A 2024 meta-analysis of several antioxidant supplements included nine astaxanthin trials. It found astaxanthin lowered total cholesterol (high certainty), LDL cholesterol (moderate) and triglycerides (moderate), and raised HDL cholesterol (moderate). It found no significant effect on systolic blood pressure (low certainty) or diastolic blood pressure (moderate certainty). One of its authors was employed by a company, Zhejiang Medicine Co., Ltd.
A 2025 meta-analysis of eight astaxanthin trials found higher HDL cholesterol (very low certainty) and lower triglycerides (low certainty). It found no significant effect on LDL cholesterol (low certainty) or total cholesterol (very low certainty). It marked every one of these results down for very serious risk of bias in the trials.
A 2015 meta-analysis of seven trials in 280 people found no significant effect on any blood lipid. No cited review measured heart attacks, strokes or other cardiovascular events.
This page records the claim at very low certainty, the lowest any graded review gives these measures. Because the sources disagree, it takes the lower reading.
Sources: Source [1]Source [2]Source [3]
Longevity and aging
What the cited sources report about lifespan, death from any cause, and markers studied in connection with aging. A change in a marker is not the same as a longer life. Each outcome is rated on its own evidence, on the same scale as the claims above.
Helps people live longer Evidence rating: Insufficient
People take it hoping it will help them live longer.
No study in people was found; in mice, a 12% longer median lifespan in males in a 2024 study was not seen again at a lower dose in a 2026 study.
No study in people measuring whether astaxanthin affects lifespan or death from any cause, and no systematic review on either, was found. The evidence cited here is in mice.
In a 2024 report from the Interventions Testing Program, funded in part by the US National Institute on Aging, astaxanthin was added to the diet from 12 months of age. It increased median lifespan by 12% in male mice of a genetically mixed strain. It did not significantly affect lifespan in female mice. The increase in the lifespan of the longest-lived males was not statistically significant. The astaxanthin in that study was a synthetic form obtained from Cardax, a company that two of the study's authors run.
The program's 2026 report tested astaxanthin again at a lower dose, including a group of male mice that started it later in life. It found no significant increase in lifespan in male or female mice. In female mice, astaxanthin was linked to shorter lifespan when the data from all three test sites were pooled. That link was not seen when the authors left out the site whose untreated female mice had lived unusually long.
The 2026 authors write that the earlier lifespan increase was at or near the smallest increase their studies can be expected to detect. They call for cautious interpretation of findings from a single site or a single group of mice. Neither study was in people. With no human evidence found, and a male-mouse lifespan increase that was not seen again at a lower dose, this page rates the claim insufficient.
Sources: Source [1]Source [2]
Which form the evidence used
Supplements are sold in several forms. This is what the sources on this page say about them — which form the research used, and any comparison those sources themselves made. Where they made none, this page does not rank the forms.
Astaxanthin from the microalga Haematococcus pluvialis, What the sources supportDetails
This is the source used in the trials the 2021 skin meta-analysis pooled: it reports that the included studies used astaxanthin derived from Haematococcus pluvialis, mostly given as oil-based capsules. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) safety opinion cited below also assessed astaxanthin from this alga. Astaxanthin is also made synthetically. No cited source compared algal with synthetic astaxanthin for any of the claims rated below, so this page cannot say whether one works differently from the other. Source [1]Source [2]
Sources
- Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Effects of Astaxanthin on Human Skin AgeingNutrients, 2021 · Meta-analysis · Primary source
- Effectiveness of Dietary Supplement for Skin Moisturizing in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled TrialsFrontiers in Nutrition, 2022 · Meta-analysis · Primary source
- Effectiveness of dietary supplements for skin photoaging in healthy adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trialsFrontiers in Medicine, 2025 · Systematic review · Primary source
- Effects of diet containing astaxanthin on visual function in healthy individuals: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel studyJournal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition, 2023 · Randomized controlled trial · Supporting source
- The Effects of Astaxanthin Supplementation on Exercise Recovery Biomarkers and Exercise Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisNutrients, 2026 · Meta-analysis · Primary source · Certainty: very low
- Antioxidant Lipid Supplement on Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisNutrients, 2024 · Meta-analysis · Primary source · Certainty: low
- Assessing the Effects of Moderate to High Dosage of Astaxanthin Supplementation on Lipid Profile Parameters—A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled StudiesPharmaceuticals, 2025 · Meta-analysis · Primary source · Certainty: very low
- Lipid profile and glucose changes after supplementation with astaxanthin: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trialsArchives of Medical Science, 2015 · Meta-analysis · Primary source
- Astaxanthin and meclizine extend lifespan in UM-HET3 male mice; fisetin, SG1002 (hydrogen sulfide donor), dimethyl fumarate, mycophenolic acid, and 4-phenylbutyrate do not significantly affect lifespan in either sex at the doses and schedules usedGeroScience, 2024 · Animal or laboratory study · Supporting source
- Astaxanthin, meclizine, mitoglitazone, pioglitazone, alpha-ketoglutarate, mifepristone, methotrexate, and atorvastatin-telmisartan do not increase lifespan in UM-HET3 miceGeroScience, 2026 · Animal or laboratory study · Supporting source
- Safety of astaxanthin for its use as a novel food in food supplementsEFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (EFSA Journal), 2020 · Health authority summary · Primary source
- The effects of astaxanthin supplementation on liver enzyme levelsInternational Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, 2024 · Meta-analysis · Primary source
Page history
Show all 7 changes to this page
- — Rewritten to the content style guideline; ratings and sources unchanged.
- — Revised in the source audit. Three sources that could not be read in full were removed: a 2024 exercise meta-analysis, a second 2026 recovery meta-analysis and a 2025 trial of eye strain in children. The exercise and eye-strain summaries were rewritten to match the sources that remain. The 2024 liver-enzyme meta-analysis has now been read in full, and its authors' stated limits were added to the safety section. No rating changed.
- — Added a longevity section. The claim that astaxanthin helps people live longer is rated insufficient: no study in people measuring lifespan or death from any cause was found, and a lifespan increase in male mice in 2024 was not seen again at a lower dose in 2026. No existing rating changed.
- — Published. All five claims, the safety section and every source passed the site's source and wording reviews. Owner decisions on the Liu 2026 funder, EFSA author ties and the eye-strain rating, and several sources read from abstract only, stay logged in docs/08-open-decisions.md.
- — Revised after the second source review and the wording review. The safety section now states that EFSA's conclusion covers adults and only the amount it assessed. Some summary wording was made more exact, and the funder of the 2026 exercise review is now reported only as the review names it. No rating changed.
- — Revised after source review. Certainty is now stated for each cholesterol and blood-pressure outcome, the skin summary notes the two combination-product trials, and the safety section adds a 2024 meta-analysis of liver enzymes. No rating changed.
- — First draft. Skin, exercise performance, exercise recovery, and cholesterol and blood pressure rated limited; eye strain rated insufficient.