Some of these unique properties have also been found to be effective in mammals 3-7 and open very promising possibilities for nutraceutical and pharmaceutical applications of astaxanthin in humans . It can be found in many of our favorite seafood such as salmon, trout, red seabream, shrimp, lobster and fish eggs. It is also found in a number of bird species. Astaxanthin cannot be synthesized by animals and must be provided in the diet as is the case with other carotenoids. 10 Mammals are also unable to synthesize astaxanthin.
Some microorganisms can be quite rich in astaxanthin.
A ubiquitous micro-algae, Haematococcus pluvialis is believed to be the organism which can accumulate the highest levels of astaxanthin in nature . The function of astaxanthin appears to be to protect the algae from adverse environment changes, such as increased UV-light photoxidation and evaporation of the water pools in which it lives. 11-13 Haematococcus algae can accumulate as high as 10 to 30 g of astaxanthin per kg of dry biomass. Some strains have even been observed to accumulate as much as 70 to 80 g of astaxanthin per kg of dry biomass. Return to top of page.