Supplement · Antioxidants, immune & general wellness
Astaxanthin
A potent carotenoid antioxidant with early evidence for skin and, tentatively, recovery.
- Evidence
- Silver· human data
- Sources cited
- 1
- Last reviewed
- 22 July 2026
Astaxanthin is a red carotenoid (from algae and the animals that eat it) and a particularly potent antioxidant that, unusually, spans cell membranes.
Its most promising human evidence is for skin — modest improvements in elasticity and UV resilience — with more tentative signals for exercise recovery, eye and cardiovascular markers. It is fat-soluble (take with a meal) and well tolerated; effects are real but modest.