Immune Health
Support healthy immune cells and a balanced inflammation response.
Immune Health Benefits of Astaxanthin
- Provides antioxidant support
- Supports a healthy inflammation response
- Promotes healthy immune function
Understanding Immune Health
The immune system protects the body against infection and injury using a variety of immune cells. Immune cell activity, proliferation, and antibody production require energy produced by mitochondria. Mitochondria are also important regulators of immune cell function and in signaling the destruction of infected cells. Mitochondria produce free radicals as a byproduct of the energy production process. Although some free radical production can be beneficial to the immune response, too much can cause oxidative damage to immune cells and healthy tissue. So, it’s important to maintain a healthy balance of free radicals and antioxidants in the body for optimal immune function.
Astaxanthin to the Rescue
Astaxanthin is a membrane-loving antioxidant, with as much as half being found in mitochondrial membranes. This makes astaxanthin well positioned to neutralize free radicals at the site where they are first formed. Oxidation is commonly a chain reaction, with one unstable free radical attacking surrounding molecules and creating more free radicals out of them. This is like rust spreading through oxidation. Quenching those first free radicals as they form can help to limit their impact on surrounding cells with the goal of maintaining a healthy balance between free radical production and antioxidant activity that help maintain immune cell health and function.
Study Highlight
Immune cells (neutrophils) collected from healthy men and women showed less oxidative damage and higher anti-microbial activity when they were treated with astaxanthin in a test tube compared to control cells.1
Healthy college students supplemented with natural astaxanthin daily for 8 weeks in a double blind, placebo-controlled study. Immune cells from both groups were collected and exposed to antigens in a test tube. The B and T cells from the astaxanthin group had a significant increased in proliferation of 25-28% in response to antigen exposure compared to placebo.2 This suggests that natural astaxanthin supports a healthy adaptive immune response at a dose of 8 mg/day.
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What’s Next
Immune cells fight infection using inflammation signaling molecules (cytokines) that trigger increased blood flow and recruit on more immune cells to selectively destroy infected cells. However, acute inflammation signaling must end once the infection has been cleared. In some cases, an unchecked immune response may persist, causing chronic inflammation that can attack healthy tissue. Systemic inflammation can be measured using the blood marker C-reactive protein (CRP). Numerous studies have shown that natural astaxanthin can lower marker of inflammation, like CRP, which indicates that natural astaxanthin may support a healthy inflammation response.
References
- Macedo RC 2010 _Eur J Nutr. 49(8)447-57
- Park JS 2010 _Nutr Metab (Lond). 7;18.