Clinical studies demonstrated that astaxanthin supplementation or applying a cream with astaxanthin, improved skin appearance including skin tone, fine lines and sallowness.
The skin is continually exposed to various environmental factors such as air, solar radiation, and pollutants, which can lead to the formation of free radicals. As the skin serves as a protective barrier, it experiences a greater burden of free radicals compared to other organs. Aging further thins the skin layers, increasing its susceptibility to UV radiation and contributing to the formation of free radicals. Exposure to high levels of UV radiation can cause premature aging by reducing skin elasticity and increasing pigmentation. Additionally, free radicals can be generated in the skin due to normal metabolism and inflammation.
Research has investigated the potential benefits of astaxanthin on skin health through dietary supplementation and topical application. Clinical studies have shown that astaxanthin supplementation and the application of creams containing astaxanthin can improve skin appearance, including skin tone, sallowness, and fine lines. The greatest improvements were observed in subjects who used both the supplement and the topical products.
Substation studies focused on astaxanthin benefits for healthy skin:
Naoki Ito et al. (2018.) “The Protective Role of Astaxanthin for UV-Induced Skin Deterioration in Healthy People-A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.” Nutrients. 2018 Jun 25;10(7):817.
“Skin is a major safeguard tissue in humans. Because biological barrier function is deteriorated by several kinds of stresses including exposure to ultra-violet (UV) rays, the protection and treatment of skin conditions by dietary supplements are important. We therefore evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation with an algal food-derived antioxidant, astaxanthin, on UV-induced skin deterioration. Twenty-three healthy Japanese participants were recruited to a 10-week double-blind placebo-controlled study. They were assigned to the astaxanthin group supplemented with a capsule containing 4 mg of astaxanthin or the placebo group. To assess the protective role of astaxanthin for UV-induced skin deterioration, we determined the minimal erythema dose (MED) and analyzed UV-induced changes of moisture and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) at baseline and after 9 weeks of supplementation. Subjective skin conditions were assessed by the visual analog scale. The astaxanthin group showed increased MED compared with placebo. In addition, the astaxanthin group had a reduced loss of skin moisture in the irradiated area compared with placebo. Subjective skin conditions for “improvement of rough skin” and “texture” in non-irradiated areas were significantly improved by astaxanthin. Astaxanthin seems protective against UVinduced skin deterioration and helps maintain healthy skin in healthy people”.
Tominaga et al. (2012). “Cosmetic benefits of astaxanthin on human subjects.” Acta Biochim Pol 59(1): 43-47.
“Two human clinical studies were performed. One was an open-label non-controlled study involving 30 healthy female subjects for 8 weeks. Significant improvements were observed by combining 6 mg per day oral supplementation and 2 ml (78.9 muM solution) per day topical application of astaxanthin. Astaxanthin derived from the microalgae, Haematococcus pluvialis showed improvements in skin wrinkle (crow’s feet at week-8), age spot size (cheek at week-8), elasticity (crow’s feet at week-8), skin texture (cheek at week-4), moisture content of corneocyte layer (cheek in 10 dry skin subjects at week-8) and corneocyte condition (cheek at week-8). It may suggest that astaxanthin derived from H. pluvialis can improve skin condition in all layers such as corneocyte layer, epidermis, basal layer and dermis by combining oral supplementation and topical treatment. Another was a randomized double-blind placebo controlled study involving 36 healthy male subjects for 6 weeks. Crow’s feet wrinkle and elasticity; and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) were improved after 6 mg of astaxanthin (the same as former study) daily supplementation. Moisture content and sebum oil level at the cheek zone showed strong tendencies for improvement. These results suggest that astaxanthin derived from Haematococcus pluvialis may improve the skin condition in not only in women but also in men.”
Tominaga, Kumi et al. (2017). “Protective effect of astaxanthin on skin deterioration Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition.” Open AccessVolume 61, Issue 1, Pages 33 – 39 July 2017. [45]
“Astaxanthin is a carotenoid with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. To evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of astaxanthin on skin deterioration, we confirmed its role in epidermal-dermal interactions in vitro. Astaxanthin treatment suppressed ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced inflammatory cytokinesecretion in keratinocytes, and matrix metalloproteinase-1 secretion by fibroblasts cultured in UVBirradiated keratinocyte medium. To verify these findings, we conducted a 16-week clinical study with 65 healthy female participants. Participants were orally administered either a 6 mg or 12 mg dose of astaxanthin or a placebo. Wrinkle parameters and skin moisture content significantly worsened in theplacebo group after 16 weeks. However, significant changes did not occur in the astaxanthin groups. Interleukin-1a levels in the stratum corneum significantly increased in the placebo and low-dose groupsbut not in the high-dose group between weeks 0 and 16. This study was performed in Japan from August to December, when changing environmental factors, such as UV and dryness, exacerbate skin deterioration. Inconclusion, our study suggests that long-term prophylactic astaxanthin supplementation may inhibit agerelated skin deterioration and maintain skin conditions associated with environmentally induced damage via its anti-inflammatory effect. (UMIN Clinical Trials Registry ID: UMIN000018550).”
Seiki et al. (2001). “Effects of astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis on human skin.” FragranceJournal 2001(12): 98-103. [46]
“Astaxanthin is a natural color carotenoid found in salmon, salmon eggs, krill, and crab. Therefore, astaxanthin has been contained in the human diet for a long time. Astaxanthin from krill has been used for cosmetics to suppress post-UVB hyperpigmentation in human skin and food color additives. Recently, astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis is available using new fermentation technology of Haematococcus pluvialis and it is used for dietary supplements, food color additives and cosmetics. Effects of astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis on human subjects were tested. No serious adverse effects were observed by patch testing and sequencing applied test on human skin. In a pilot study, the skin repeated application test of cream containing astaxanthin on human skin showed the visual wrinkle reduction. The present paper described about patch testing, skin repeated application test, and a pilot study evaluating the wrinkle reduction effect on human skin.”
Roghaye Gharaei et al. (2022). “Randomized controlled trial of astaxanthin impacts on antioxidant status and assisted reproductive technology outcomes in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome.” J Assist Reprod Genet. 2022 Apr;39(4):995-1008. [24]
“Photoaging accounts for most age-related changes in skin appearance. It has been suggested that both astaxanthin, a potent antioxidant, and collagen hydrolysate can be used as antiaging modalities in photoaged skin. However, there is no clinical study using astaxanthin combined with collagen hydrolysate. We investigated the effects of using a combination of dietary astaxanthin and collagen hydrolysate supplementation on moderately photoaged skin in humans. A total of 44 healthy subjects were recruited and treated with astaxanthin (2 mg/day) combined with collagen hydrolysate (3 g/day) or placebos, which were identical in appearance and taste to the active supplementation for 12 weeks. The elasticity and hydration properties of facial skin were evaluated using noninvasive objective devices. In addition, we also evaluated the expression of procollagen type I, fibrillin-1, matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and -12, and ultraviolet (UV)-induced DNA damage in artificially UV-irradiated buttock skin before and after treatment. The supplement group showed significant improvements in skin elasticity and transepidermal water loss in photoaged facial skin after 12 weeks compared with the placebo group. In the supplement group, expression of procollagen type I mRNA increased and expression of MMP-1 and -12 mRNA decreased compared with those in the placebo group. In contrast, there was no significant difference in UV-induced DNA damage between groups. These results demonstrate that dietary astaxanthin combined with collagen hydrolysate can improve elasticity and barrier integrity in photoaged human facial skin, and such treatment is well tolerated.”
Chalyk et al. (2017). “Continuous astaxanthin intake reduces oxidative stress and reverses agerelated morphological changes of residual skin surface components in middle-aged volunteers.” Nutrition Research Volume 48, December 2017, Pages 40-48. [48]
“Oxidative stress accelerates skin aging, and dietary supplementation with antioxidants may alleviate it. Morphological analysis of the residual skin surface components (RSSCs) allows detecting age-related changes in corneocyte desquamation, microbial presence, and lipid droplet size. We hypothesized that continuous ingestion of carotenoid antioxidant astaxanthin (4 mg/d) for 4 weeks could influence RSCC morphology and evaluated RSSC samples taken from middle-aged subjects before and after this dietary intervention. The study included 31 volunteers (17 men and 14 women) over the age of 40. RSSC samples were collected from the surface of the facial skin at the beginning (day 0) and end (day 29) of the study. In addition, blood samples were taken on days 0, 15, and 29 for measuring plasma levels of malondialdehyde that allowed assessing systemic oxidative stress. The results demonstrated that plasma malondialdehyde consistently decreased during astaxanthin consumption (by 11.2% on day 15 and by 21.7% on day 29). The analysis of RSSC samples has revealed significantly decreased levels of corneocyte desquamation (P = .0075) and microbial presence (P = .0367) at the end of the study. These phenomena as well as asignificant (P = .0214) increase in lipid droplet size were more strongly manifested among obese (body mass index >30 kg/m2 ) subjects. All described RSSC changes correspond to a shift toward characteristicsof skin associated with a younger age. The results confirm our hypothesis by demonstrating that continuous astaxanthin consumption produces a strong antioxidant effect resulting in facial skin rejuvenation which is especially pronounced in obese subjects.”
Supporting studies on astaxanthin and skin health:
Application of astaxanthin emulsion pre-treatment reduced the allergenic response to p-phenylenediaminecontaining hair dye. This study could be beneficial regarding attempts to reduce the burden of allergic contact dermatitis caused by hair dye cosmetics in sensitized subjects.
The study was an open-label, noncontrolled study in subjects with increased oxidative stress. Additional findings associated with skin health were observed: astaxanthin improved the physical symptoms of “cold skin” and “skin problems” after 4 and 8 weeks respectively as measured by Anti-Aging QOL Common Questionnaire.
This study evaluated the effects of a rose hip powder made from seeds and shells on 34 healthy subjects, aged 35-65 years. Astaxanthin (dietary supplementation, 4 mg) has been used as a positive control. Both treatments improved aging-induced skin conditions. Astaxanthin had better effect on skin moisture.
Algalif, Natural Astaxanthin: Human Clinical Studies Overview
