AstaREAL Good for Heart Health

CHIBA, JapanRecent results from a randomized, placebo-controlled human study suggest astaxanthin (as AstaREAL, from Fuji Health Science) consumption ameliorates triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in correlation with increased adiponectin in humans (Atherosclerosis. 2009). Astaxanthin administration at doses of 0, 6, 12 and 18 mg/d for 12 weeks was randomly allocated to 61 non-obese subjects with fasting serum triglyceride of 120 to 200 mg/d, and without diabetes and hypertension, aged 25 to 60 years.

In before and after tests, body mass index (BMI) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were unaffected at all doses; however, triglyceride decreased, while HDL-cholesterol increased significantly. Multiple comparison tests showed 12 and 18 mg/d doses significantly reduced triglyceride, and 6 mg and 12 mg doses significantly increased HDL-cholesterol. Serum adiponectin was increased by astaxanthin (12 and 18 mg/d), and changes of adiponectin correlated positively with HDL-cholesterol changes independent of age and BMI.