Astaxanthin: the world's best kept health secret
Astaxanthin, the King of Carotenoids, is
a carotenoid compound that is closely related to the better known beta
carotene but exhibits superior antioxidant properties. Currently, the
primary natural source for astaxanthin is the microalgae Haematococcus Pluvialis.
It seems to accumulate the highest levels of astaxanthin in nature;
commercially more than 40g of astaxanthin can be obtained from 1kg of
dry biomass. It has the advantage of the population doubling every
week, which means scaling up is not an issue. However, it does require
some expertise to grow the algae with a high astaxanthin content.
Specifically, the microalgae is grown in two phases. First, in the
green phase, the cells are given an abundance of nutrients to promote
proliferation of the cells. In the subsequent red phase, the cells are
deprived of nutrients and subjected to intense sunlight to induce encystment (carotogenesis),
during which the cells produce high levels of astaxanthin as a
protective mechanism against the environmental stress. The cells, with
their high concentrations of the red pigment Astaxanthin, are then
harvested.Astaxanthin
can be found in plants and animals throughout the world and it is most
prevelant in algae and phytoplancton which are the base of the food
chain. Any sea animal that has a reddish or pinkish colour contains
Astaxanthin; for example, one can find Astaxanthin in salmon, trout,
lobster, shrimp and crab. As a natural source, the following can be
found in nature (or a production facility) with the approximate
Astaxanthin concentrations:
Source
|
Astaxanthin concentration (ppm)
|
Salmonoids
|
~ 5
|
Plankton
|
~ 60
|
Krill
|
~ 120
|
Arctic shrimp
|
~ 1,200
|
Phaffia yeast
|
~ 10,000
|
Haematococcus Pluvialis
|
~ 40,000
|
BioAstin Natural Astaxanthin shows
significantly higher free radical scavenging activity than all other
antioxidants tested. Results on a pure active basis were as follows:
Natural Astaxanthin |
Alternate Antioxidant |
Multiple of Greater Free Radical Scavenging Activity |
BioAstin |
Vitamin C |
65x stronger |
BioAstin |
Vitamin E |
14x stronger |
BioAstin |
Beta Carotene |
54x stronger |
BioAstin |
Pycnogenol |
18x stronger |
BioAstin |
Synthetic Astaxanthin |
21x stronger |
Most of Natural Astaxanthin's health
benefits are in some way related to its supreme antioxidant ability.
Testimonials from early users along the increased scientific laboratory research led to dozens of human clinical trials demonstrating Astaxanthin's many different applications in human nutrition. What you can expect from our Astaxanthin:
NUTRITIONAL QUALITY AND STABILITY
- Clinically validated efficacy in double-blind, placebo-controlled human trials
- Nutrition content reported as “pure astaxanthin” as compared to “astaxanthin complex”
- Guaranteed stable oleoresin through solvent-free, supercritical CO2 extraction
- Guaranteed stable beadlet through microencapsulation
- 23 years of continuous microalgae production and reliable supply
PROCESS QUALITY
- Production process emulates nature using open culture systems
- Cyanotech's proprietary analytical method accepted worldwide
- Cultured in high quality drinking water from Hawaiian aquifier
- World's largest producer of natural astaxanthin
SAFETY
- Produced using current Good Manufacturing Practices by the Natural Products Association
- ISO 9001:2000 Certified Quality Management
- Certified pesticide and herbicide free
- Free from any radiation contamination
- Guaranteed gluten-free and GMO-free
- Non-irradiated
|