One of my more recent experiments was to test a common supplement called Astaxanthin (AST). I only knew of AST as an antioxidant and anti inflammatory via inhibition of the inflammatory mediator Nf kappa B. I had no expectations of what it might do for me, but I wanted to see what if anything it might do.
I bought the highest dose version I could find which was 24 mg and also claimed to be a liposomal formulation. I took double the suggested dose of 24 mg for a total of 48 mg/day of AST. One soft gel with breakfast and one soft gel with dinner. I didn't notice anything for two weeks, but around two weeks I noticed that my morning two mile brisk walk elapsed time had decreased, which was very unusual.
To give some context, I do a morning very brisk walk and my elapsed time varies between 27 to 30 minutes, with most days being between 27.5 and 28 minutes elapsed time(ET) and usually closer to the 28 minute mark. My very best ET ever was 26.75 minutes over a year ago and I have never been able to beat that ET since, no matter how hard I tried. After two weeks of taking AST twice a day at 24 mg each time, my ETs were staying very close to 27 minutes.
After 3 weeks of taking AST I hit below 27 minutes and by the end of the third week I hit a new best ET of 26.5 minutes! I was pretty excited about that. Previously when I would walk, I would feel tightness in my calves when I was pushing near my limit as far as walking speed and if I didn't slow down, then my calves would start to cramp unless I put mag oil on my calves before going for my walk, but putting mag oil on before every walk, although very effective for preventing the muscle cramping, was kind of a pain in the butt, so this was great and taking AST was easy and not a pain in the butt.
By the fourth week I was able to bring my ET down to below 26 minutes and could hit in the low 25's. I don't think I could have done this even when I was much younger, so I was really impressed with these results. I still feel the tightness in my calves as I am pushing new limits for me, but I never get cramps now.
All of this is great news to me, but even better, by the fifth week, I broke below 25 minutes and hit a new low ET of 24:45 ! It would be an understatement to say I am impressed, but I am very impressed with AST!
I started thinking if this is really real and not just a placebo effect, there must be some science to support this use for AST, so I started reading and a week or two ago this new study just came out about the use of AST in the elderly :
' The main finding of the current study was that taking an astaxanthin supplement for 16 weeks increased walking endurance while also reducing oxidative stress in the elderly living in a nursing home. '
The age group in this study was 67 to 94 and my thinking is if AST can do as much as it did in this study to improve walking ET, I think it should be able to do as much or more for a younger aged group. Another consideration is that I took double the dose that was used in the above study and my results were apparent at 5 weeks as opposed to the 16 weeks allocated in the study.
With a little more reading, I was able to find another interesting study about AST involving improved results from endurance training due to AST :
' Results: ET(Endurance Training) led to improved specific muscle endurance only in the AX group (Pre 353 ± 26 vs. Post 472 ± 41 contractions), and submaximal GXT duration improved in both groups (PL 40.8 ± 9.1% and AX 41.1 ± 6.3%). '
So in this study AST was shown to improve upon the effect of the endurance training in the elderly, something that AST has also shown in young athletes as described in the following study :
' The AST group significantly increased power output (20 W; 95% CI, 1, 38), while the PLA group did not (1.6 W; 95% CI, -17, 20). The mechanism of action for these improvements remains unclear, as we observed no treatment effects for carbohydrate and fat oxidation, or blood indices indicative of fuel mobilization. While AST significantly improved TT performance the mechanism of action explaining this effect remains
obscure. '
CONCLUSION
So although the methods of action have not been fully elucidated, AST appears to improve endurance, improve exercise performance and ultimately muscle strength. If you are currently in any type of exercise plan or are considering starting a new exercise plan, jog, fast walk, run, or do any type of aerobics, AST seems worthy of your consideration in that plan to increase your total benefits for your efforts! Another important consideration with AST is that in this article I am only discussing one specific health benefit of AST, whereas studies for AST are delving into many other health issues and ultimately could meean that AST is overall beneficial for our health!
So although I bought more in order to give a fair test of AST, I started to see benefit with the first bottle. AST was the only supplement I added during the 5 week test period. The double dose I used may be a factor in my impressive results, but the study using the 24 mg dose still had very good benefit. I plan to reduce my dose down to the label recommended dose of 24 mg or one soft gel per day. The double dose I used was mainly intended to potentially speed up the effects of AST, but I have no way of knowing whether it did or not.
Art
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I don't have that issue so I don't know for sure if it would help or not, but the following two studies suggest it is beneficial for both daily mental and physical fatigue :
"Here, we use a natural compound astaxanthin (AXT) with multiple biological activities to attenuate neurotoxicity in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease in both young and aged mice. We observed that AXT preserved neurons in the substantia nigra of both young and aged mice that were exposed to the MPTP neurotoxin. However, AXT was less efficacious in the aged animals, as AXT was not able to protect against the MPTP induced loss of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) throughout the aged nigro-striatal circuit. This disparity in the neuroprotective effect of AXT suggests that aging is a critical factor to consider during the development of novel therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases and should be more rigorously evaluated in preclinical models."
Yes, astaxanthin has multiple other health benefits, but I focused on this one (endurance) because of my exceptional results in just 5 weeks! Not many supplements have offered me such significant benefits in such a relatively short period of time as astaxanthin.
I've used it before, but results were nil because back when I tried it previously, the high dose products were 2 and 4 mg. There are studies showing benefit at 4 mg, but I noticed no benefit at that dose compared to the dose I used for this experiment. The other thing is that back then, human studies were almost non existent. Now at least, there are a few.
Astaxanthin suppresses endoplasmic reticulum stress and protects against neuron damage in Parkinson's disease by regulating miR-7/SNCA axis 2021 sciencedirect.com/science/a...
"Collectively, AST suppressed ER stress and protected against PD-caused neuron damage by targeting miR-7/SNCA axis, implying that AST might be a potential effective therapeutic agent for PD."
"We demonstrate that AXT neuroprotection was associated with attenuated microglial activation as indicated by reduced immunohistochemical detection of IBA-1 in the SN and striatum of AXT treated mice. Altogether, these studies suggest that AXT has neuroprotective property in the central nervous system against MPTP neurodegeneration"
"AST, with its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic properties, has various health benefits for humans. The present review highlighted the mechanisms of action and benefits of AST in neurological diseases. In addition, owing to its lipid-soluble characteristics, AST may serve an important role in improving neurological diseases. However, previous studies on AST are mainly focused on animal models. Thus, further in vivo and in vitro studies on AST are warranted to clarify the specific signaling pathways involved in its effects and to elucidate its benefits for effective therapy. More research is needed to explore the potential applications of AST in the prevention, management and treatment of neurological diseases."
"Recently, astaxanthin is also receiving attention for its effect on the prevention or co-treatment of neurological pathologies, including Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases. In this review, we focus on the neuroprotective properties of astaxanthin and explore the underlying mechanisms to counteract neurological diseases, mainly based on its capability to cross the blood-brain barrier and its oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic properties."
Antioxidant effect of astaxanthin on phospholipid peroxidation in human erythrocytes 2011 sci-hub.se/10.1017/S0007114...
"Phospholipid hydroperoxides (PLOOH) accumulate abnormally in the erythrocytes of dementia patients, and dietary xanthophylls (polar carotenoids such as astaxanthin) are hypothesised to prevent the accumulation. In the present study, we conducted a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled human trial to assess the efficacy of 12-week astaxanthin supplementation (6 or 12 mg/d) on both astaxanthin and PLOOH levels in the erythrocytes of thirty middle-aged and senior subjects. After 12 weeks of treatment, erythrocyte astaxanthin concentrations were higher in both the 6 and 12 mg astaxanthin groups than in the placebo group. In contrast, erythrocyte PLOOH concentrations were lower in the astaxanthin groups than in the placebo group. In the plasma, somewhat lower PLOOH levels were found after astaxanthin treatment. These results suggest that astaxanthin supplementation results in improved erythrocyte antioxidant status and decreased PLOOH levels, which may contribute to the prevention of dementia."
The Putative Role of Astaxanthin in Neuroinflammation Modulation: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential 2022 frontiersin.org/articles/10...
"Astaxanthin modulates neuroinflammation by alleviating oxidative stress, reducing the production of neuroinflammatory factors, inhibiting peripheral inflammation and maintaining the integrity of the blood-brain barrier. Mechanistically, astaxanthin scavenges radicals, triggers the Nrf2-induced activation of the antioxidant system, and suppresses the activation of the NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. With its good biosafety and high bioavailability, astaxanthin has strong potential for modulating neuroinflammation, although some outstanding issues still require further investigation."
"Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are continuously generated as a by-product of normal aerobic metabolism. Elevated ROS formation leads to potential damage of biological structures and is implicated in various diseases. Astaxanthin, a xanthophyll carotenoid, is a secondary metabolite responsible for the red-orange color of a number of marine animals and microorganisms. There is mounting evidence that astaxanthin has powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic activities. Hence, its consumption can result in various health benefits, with potential for therapeutic application. Astaxanthin contains both a hydroxyl and a keto group, and this unique structure plays important roles in neutralizing ROS. The molecule quenches harmful singlet oxygen, scavenges peroxyl and hydroxyl radicals and converts them into more stable compounds, prevents the formation of free radicals, and inhibits the autoxidation chain reaction. It also acts as a metal chelator and converts metal prooxidants into harmless molecules. However, like many other carotenoids, astaxanthin is affected by the environmental conditions, e.g., pH, heat, or exposure to light. It is hence susceptible to structural modification, i.e., via isomerization, aggregation, or esterification, which alters its physiochemical properties. Here, we provide a concise overview of the distribution of astaxanthin in tissues, and astaxanthin structures, and their role in tackling singlet oxygen and free radicals. We highlight the effect of structural modification of astaxanthin molecules on the bioavailability and biological activity. These studies suggested that astaxanthin would be a promising dietary supplement for health applications."
Docosahexaenoic acid-acylated astaxanthin ester exhibits superior performance over non-esterified astaxanthin in preventing behavioral deficits coupled with apoptosis in MPTP-induced mice with Parkinson's disease 2020 pubs.rsc.org/en/content/art...
"Non-esterified astaxanthin (AST) has been reported to exhibit protective effects from Parkinson's disease (PD). Notably, DHA-acylated astaxanthin ester (DHA-AST) is widely distributed in the seafood. However, whether DHA-AST has an effect on PD, and the differences between DHA-AST, non-esterified AST and the combination of non-esterified AST (AST) with DHA (DHA + AST) is unclear. In the present study, mice with PD, induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), were employed to investigate the effects of DHA-AST, AST and DHA + AST on Parkinson's disease. The rotarod test results showed that DHA-AST significantly suppressed the PD development in MPTP-induced mice, and was better than the effects of AST and DHA + AST. Further mechanistic studies indicated that all three astaxanthin supplements could inhibit oxidative stress in the brain. It was noted that DHA-AST had the best ability to suppress the apoptosis of dopaminergic neurons via the mitochondria-mediated pathway and JNK and P38 MAPK pathway in the brain among the three treated groups. DHA-AST was superior to AST in preventing behavioral deficits coupled with apoptosis rather than oxidative stress, and might provide a valuable reference for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases."
"Results:The results demonstrated that 6-OHDA-induced PD-like behavioral impairments of mice were significantly improved by ASTX. Pre incubation of SH-SY5Y cellswith ASTX inhibits the 6-OHDA ‑induced apoptosis and necrosis. The impaired viability of 6-OHDA-injured SH-SY5Y cells were significantly restored by ASTX pretreatment.
Conclusion: Our results indicated that ASTX treatment could protect SH-SY5Y cells and dopaminergic neurons of substantianigra from 6-OHDA -Induced Toxicity in a dose-dependent manner."
Health benefits of astaxanthin against age-related diseases of multiple organs: A comprehensive review 2022 tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10....
"The natural dietary antioxidant supplementation offers substantial pharmacological and therapeutic effects against various disease conditions. Astaxanthin is one such natural carotenoid with superior antioxidant activity than other carotenoids, as well as well as vitamins C and E, and additionally, it is known to exhibit a plethora of pharmacological effects. The present review summarizes the protective molecular mechanisms of actions of astaxanthin on age-related diseases of multiple organs such as Neurodegenerative diseases [Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Status Epilepticus (SE)], Bone Related Diseases [Osteoarthritis (OA) and Osteoporosis], Cancers [Colon cancer, Prostate cancer, Breast cancer, and Lung Cancer], Cardiovascular disorders [Hypertension, Atherosclerosis and Myocardial infarction (MI)], Diabetes associated complications [Diabetic nephropathy (DN), Diabetic neuropathy, and Diabetic retinopathy (DR)], Eye disorders [Age related macular degeneration (AMD), Dry eye disease (DED), Cataract and Uveitis], Gastric Disorders [Gastritis, Colitis, and Functional dyspepsia], Kidney Disorders [Nephrolithiasis, Renal fibrosis, Renal Ischemia reperfusion (RIR), Acute kidney injury (AKI), and hyperuricemia], Liver Diseases [Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), Alcoholic Liver Disease (AFLD), Liver fibrosis, and Hepatic Ischemia-Reperfusion (IR) Injury], Pulmonary Disorders [Pulmonary Fibrosis, Acute Lung injury (ALI), and Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)], Muscle disorders (skeletal muscle atrophy), Skin diseases [Atopic dermatitis (ATD), Skin Photoaging, and Wound healing]."
In the first study I linked to, they used 24 mg/day to very good effect. Had that study been available before I started my test, I likely would have gone with just a single 24 mg soft gel. As it is I will be reducing my dose to 24 mg/day or just one soft gel per day to see how it goes. I have no idea if it makes any difference that the supplement I chose also claims to be Liposomal, but I think the 48 mg dose I used may be overkill, but I am very happy with the results!
Regarding Restore Gold, I think they made an excellent choice by including Grape Seed Extract in the product, but I believe the dose they used is not optimal for the purpose at hand.
Hi Art ~ I guess I need to do some research on the Grape Seed Extract. My husband has developed a left hand tremor now. It came on during our recent B1 hiccup, which is all straightened out now. I am hoping that the Restore Gold will eliminate it.
One question ~ recently I took my husband off melatonin prior to having a Basil cell skin cancer removed. He was at a dose of 40mg one night & 60 mg the next (average of 50 mg). How fast can I get him back to his original dose with him being off of it for 2 weeks? Also, in your experience do you think I can get him on a higher dose down the road? I don’t recall now how I figured out that 60mg every night was too much.
Right now I am increasing his melatonin by 3mg for 3 nights. Do you think I could increase by more? I have 3mg caps, 10mg caps, and 20 mg caps.
I think your current approach is fine, but it is hard for me to say what is the best melatonin dose because I have never seen anyone who tolerated 60 mg of melatonin, but not more. Most people who can tolerate 50 or 60 mg/day are generally able to tolerate more? When I have stopped melatonin and started again, I notice very little next day tiredness and what little may be there is gone in a day or two, but I also try to stay as busy as possible during the day to minimize any next day issues with sleepiness.. My body seems to adjust to melatonin fairly quickly. So for me, I would add in 10 mg increments and adjust depending how my body responds to each adjustment.
Thank you Art ~ I think I will try to to increase it back up a little quicker. And I think I’ll try to get him to a higher dose slowly.
I know one time I doubled my dose (I think, not sure 10mg to 20 mg) & I felt HORRIBLE for a couple of hours. It scared me so because of this experience I’m a little cautious.
Thank you, again, for your help and insights. I really appreciate your help!!
Art, thanks for your post on Astaxanthin (AST). I found it interesting, direct, to the point in what you were trying to measure (improvement in exercise/walking endurance), and you did not over interpret the meaning of these results. I had put AST, along with some other substances, on a short list to read about, evaluate their potential mechanism for each compound, and consider taking. Your post just brought AST to the front of this tentative list of substances to consider for treating Parkinson's. Thanks again, Frank
The good thing is that if you decide to test Astaxanthin, the five week test period I used seems appropriate to determine if it is helping or not. Point in fact, my ET for this mornings walk was 25:09, so it looks like that 24:45 ET is going to stand as my best ET indefinitely and low 25's is gong to be my best going forward.
Btw, it is worth mentioning that human studies are starting to show more benefit than just Increased endurance. If you do test it, please come back and let us know if it was helpful for you!
Newer studies continue to suggest that AST is beneficial for endurance and more, especially when combined with moderate exercise as discussed in this 2024 review and meta analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) :
Here is a relevant quote from the meta analysis of RCTs :
' Remarkably, astaxanthin supplementation combined with regular training could enhance the fat oxidation (SMD: 2.56; 95% CI: 1.24-3.89), and significantly improve the physical performance (SMD: .62; 95% CI: .17-1.06). The subgroup analysis further showed significantly greater benefits when performing the aerobic exercises performance (SMD: .45; 95% CI: .13-.76), when the dose was ≥ 20 mg (SMD: .37; 95% CI: .11-.63), and when the supplementation duration was > 12 weeks (SMD: .66; 95% CI: .13-.63). We conclude that astaxanthin supplementation could significantly enhance aerobic exercise efficiency, especially at higher doses and for longer durations. '
So they are showing that the effects are greater at doses of 20 mg or more per day. I take either 24 or 48 mg per day depending on what I am doing. My current dose is 48 mg/day.
Just to update this thread after two years and going back up to 48 mg of astaxanthin (AST) per day, this morning I went for my brisk walk and decided to check how long it would take me and had an elapsed time (ET) of 25:32, which is very good for me. Not as good as my best time while using AST at 48 mg of 24:45 minutes two years ago, but very good all the same.
I just wanted to let everyone know that AST is still working well after two years to help increase my endurance for brisk walking and reduce my ET down from what used to be my norm of 28 minutes. No muscle cramping at the brisk pace I walk at either.
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Coffee and Parkinson's
Supplement Nichi Glucan appears safe and may be worth a PD trial - I would welcome any feedback on the linked documents.
