Astaxanthin is harder to pronounce than it is to take. What is worth a second thought is the amount in the capsule, what you eat alongside it, and where you keep the bottle.
How Much Astaxanthin Should You Take?
8 mg a day is the practical answer in Europe, because it is the maximum permitted in a supplement for anyone over 14 years old (1), and it sits inside the range trials have used, mostly 4 to 12 mg (2).
You will see higher doses in the research, some at 20 mg and above, mostly in the exercise and blood-fat trials. Those are not sold as supplements in the EU. The total limit across all sources is higher, about 14 mg a day for a 70 kg adult, and it counts the astaxanthin in fish and shellfish as well as anything from a capsule (3).
EU labelling also requires a warning against taking these products on the same day as another supplement containing astaxanthin esters, so check your multivitamin or algae blend before adding this on top (1).
When Is the Best Time to Take It?
No trial has compared morning against evening, so there is no evidence-based best time. Morning or midday with a meal is the sensible default, mainly because it is easy to remember. Consistency does more than timing.
Why It Needs a Meal With Fat
Astaxanthin is fat soluble, so it needs fat in the gut to be absorbed. "Take with food" is the usual instruction and it undersells the point: a dry cracker is food, and it will not do the job.
A meal with some fat in it will. Eggs, yoghurt, oily fish, nuts, or a drizzle of olive oil. You do not need much, and if you already eat a balanced breakfast or lunch you need not plan around it.
Can You Get Astaxanthin From Food?
Yes, in smaller amounts. Salmon is the richest common source, with wild fish carrying more than farmed, and shrimp, trout and krill contain less again (4). All of them get it from the microalgae further down the food chain.
A 150 g portion of wild sockeye salmon holds roughly 4 to 6 mg of astaxanthin. The same portion of farmed Atlantic salmon holds around 1 mg (4). Reaching 8 mg from food would take about two portions of sockeye a day, or eight of farmed salmon.
Capsules, Softgels and What to Check on the Label
Astaxanthin comes as capsules, softgels and oils. No format has been shown to beat the others in people, so that is preference. The label is where the real differences are.
Check it names Haematococcus pluvialis. This is the algae-derived form used in most of the human research, and the one authorised for supplements in the EU. What Is Astaxanthin? covers how it differs from the synthetic version.
Check whether the milligrams are astaxanthin or extract. A bottle can say 250 mg on the front and still hold only 8 mg of astaxanthin, because the 250 mg is the weight of the algae extract, and the astaxanthin is a small fraction of it. A good label gives both figures. If it only shows the big one, that is the number to be suspicious of.
How to Store Astaxanthin
Astaxanthin degrades in light, heat and oxygen (4). Keep it in the fridge at 4 to 8°C, in its original opaque or glass container, and off a sunny windowsill or a warm shelf above the hob.
What to Expect, and When
Nothing dramatic, and nothing quickly. The skin trials that found anything ran for eight to sixteen weeks (5), so give it two months before deciding.
Astaxanthin is well tolerated in the human trials run so far, with no serious side effects reported (2).
Taking It With Other Supplements
Much of the eye research has tested astaxanthin alongside lutein and zeaxanthin, so if screen strain is your reason for taking it, that combination has more behind it (6).
Otherwise there is no evidence for or against particular stacks, though taking it with other fat-soluble supplements at the same meal is convenient, since they all want the same thing from it.
Who Should Not Take It
Do not take astaxanthin during pregnancy or breastfeeding, as there is not enough research in either group to establish that it is safe.
If you take prescription medication, mention any new supplement to your doctor or pharmacist.
The Takeaway
Take 8 mg a day with a meal containing fat, ideally breakfast or lunch, since a morning habit is the easiest to keep. Buy the algae-derived form, read the label for milligrams of astaxanthin rather than extract, keep it cold and dark, and give it two months.
At Augment Life, Astaxanthin provides 8 mg per capsule from Haematococcus pluvialis.
Read More
- What Is Astaxanthin?
- What Are the Benefits of Astaxanthin?
- Bioavailability of Supplements: Meaning and Importance
Literature Sources
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1581 of 1 August 2023 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470 as regards the conditions of use of the novel food astaxanthin-rich oleoresin from Haematococcus pluvialis algae. Official Journal of the European Union. 2023;L 194:4-7. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32023R1581
- Donoso A, González-Durán J, Agurto Muñoz A, González PA, Agurto-Muñoz C. Therapeutic uses of natural astaxanthin: an evidence-based review focused on human clinical trials. Pharmacological Research. 2021;166:105479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrs.2021.105479
- EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens. Safety of astaxanthin for its use as a novel food in food supplements. EFSA Journal. 2020;18(2):5993. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2020.5993
- Ambati RR, Phang SM, Ravi S, Aswathanarayana RG. Astaxanthin: sources, extraction, stability, biological activities and its commercial applications: a review. Marine Drugs. 2014;12(1):128-152. https://doi.org/10.3390/md12010128
- Ng QX, De Deyn MLZQ, Loke W, Foo NX, Chan HW, Yeo WS. Effects of Astaxanthin Supplementation on Skin Health: A Systematic Review of Clinical Studies. Journal of Dietary Supplements. 2021;18(2):169-182. https://doi.org/10.1080/19390211.2020.1739187
- Yoshida K, Sakai O, Honda T, Kikuya T, Takeda R, Sawabe A, et al. Effects of Astaxanthin, Lutein, and Zeaxanthin on Eye-Hand Coordination and Smooth-Pursuit Eye Movement after Visual Display Terminal Operation in Healthy Subjects. Nutrients. 2023;15(6):1459. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15061459
