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Astaxanthin

Supplement carotenoid (xanthophyll) skin & hairfitness
Aka: natural astaxanthin, haematococcus pluvialis extract, astareal
Brands seen in Singapore: GreenLife, Kordel's
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.
How to use
What it’s for
Limited human evidence — exercise recovery, skin moisture
When to take
After a meal · one small study: 2.4× the uptake vs before
Take with
A meal with some fat · it is fat-soluble
Pros & cons
Pros
  • Efsa 2020: 8 mg/day from supplements safe for adults
  • 24-RCT review: lower creatine kinase after exercise
  • 9-RCT review: skin moisture and elasticity improved
Cons
  • No gain in vo2max, time trial or power output in trials
  • Fertility use: no semen-parameter benefit in humans
  • Fat-soluble — poorly absorbed on an empty stomach
Sources
  1. EFSA NDA Panel — Safety of astaxanthin for its use as a novel food in food supplements (EFSA Journal 2020;18(2):5993) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “the FEEDAP Panel derived a new ADI of 0.2 mg astaxanthin/kg bw … The Panel concludes that an intake of 8 mg ATX per day from food supplements is safe for adults even in combination with the high exposure estimate to ATX from the background diet. Adolescents at 14 to < 18 years of age reach the ADI in a combined exposure scenario … the ADI is exceeded in children below 14 years of age (from 28% in children aged 10 to < 14 years and up to 524% in infants aged 4–6 months)”
  2. Effects of astaxanthin on exercise recovery biomarkers and performance: systematic review and meta-analysis (Liu et al., Nutrients 2026) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Twenty-four RCTs were included. Astaxanthin significantly reduced creatine kinase levels (SMD = -0.45, 95% CI: -0.83 to -0.07) … No significant effects were observed for malondialdehyde or interleukin-6. Astaxanthin did not significantly improve VO2max, time-trial performance, or maximal workload/power output … Astaxanthin doses ranged from 4 to 28 mg/day and intervention durations from 4 days to 16 weeks … 12 studies contributed to the quantitative synthesis of physical performance outcomes and 13 studies contributed to the quantitative synthesis of recovery-related outcomes”
  3. Effects of astaxanthin on exercise-induced oxidative stress: systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs (You et al., 3 Biotech 2026) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “astaxanthin supplementation (4-28 mg·day-1 for 4 days to 12 weeks) … Seven RCTs involving 188 participants … Other oxidative or injury-related biomarkers (MDA/TBARS, SOD, SH, CK, IL-6) showed no significant changes … broader physiological or performance benefits remain unconfirmed”
  4. Systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of astaxanthin on human skin ageing (Zhou et al., Nutrients 2021) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Nine randomised, controlled human studies assessed oral ASX effects … Oral ASX supplementation significantly restored moisture content (SMD = 0.53; 95% CI = 0.05, 1.01) and improved elasticity (SMD = 0.77; 95% CI = 0.19, 1.35) but did not significantly decrease wrinkle depth”
  5. Systematic review and meta-analysis of astaxanthin efficacy in male infertility (Dehpahni et al., Sci Rep 2026) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The human meta-analysis showed no statistically significant improvements in any semen parameters compared with placebo, indicating very limited and low-certainty clinical evidence”
  6. Bioavailability of astaxanthin in Haematococcus algal extract: effects of timing of diet and smoking (Okada et al., Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 2009) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The timing of administration greatly affected astaxanthin bioavailability including the area under the curve (AUC(0-168), 2,968 ± 959 microg h/l in the before-meal group vs. 7,219 ± 3,118 microg h/l in the after-meal group), indicating high availability in the after-meal group”
  7. Oral bioavailability of astaxanthin in humans is enhanced by lipid-based formulations (Mercke Odeberg et al., Eur J Pharm Sci 2003) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “like other carotenoids, is a very lipophilic compound and has low oral bioavailability. However, bioavailability can be enhanced in the presence of fat”
  8. Safety of an astaxanthin-rich Haematococcus pluvialis algal extract: a randomized clinical trial (Spiller & Dewell, J Med Food 2003) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Thirty-five healthy adults age 35-69 years … 8 weeks' duration … three gelcaps per day, one at each meal … 2 mg of astaxanthin each … No significant differences were detected between the treatment and the placebo groups”
  9. Astaxanthin: how much is too much? A safety review (Brendler & Williamson, Phytother Res 2019) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Recommended or approved doses varied in different countries and ranged between 2 and 24 mg. We reviewed 87 human studies, none of which found safety concerns with natural AX supplementation, 35 with doses ≥12 mg/day”
  10. HSA — Guidelines on Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients in Health Supplements and Traditional Medicines, GL-CHPB-1-012 Rev 001 (Oct 2025) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The objective of this guideline is to highlight the substances of concern when used in HS and TM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list [astaxanthin / Haematococcus pluvialis not listed in Annex A or B]”
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Updated 2026-08-29. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.