Is synthetic astaxanthin (salmon "dye") safe?
TL;DR Is synthetic astaxanthin safe for humans to consume?
Background
Synthetic astaxanthin is available as a supplement, and is also commonly consumed by humans in the form of farmed salmon.
Wild salmon eat a lot of shrimp-like krill, which contains lots of astaxanthin, which is what gives salmon it’s red/pink flesh. In farmed salmon, they’re not fed the same diet, so they don’t get the same colour (they’d be grey or off-white). So farms feed them synthetic astaxanthin to give their flesh a red/pink colour.
This says that humans that eat the farmed salmon end up consuming the synthetic astaxanthin via the salmon's flesh.
I found the following:
- An article saying:
... one company has announced it will bring a synthetic astaxanthin supplement to market for human use. Their argument for its legality is that it’s already approved as a color additive in food (salmon). This may be a legal loophole that could potentially bring this far inferior supplement onto health food store shelves sometime in the future. The question that remains to be answered is whether or not synthetic astaxanthin is safe for direct human consumption.
Astaxanthin may cause stomach pain in large doses (but so do many foods in large quantities).
Also:
Synthetic astaxanthin is significantly inferior to algal-based astaxanthin
Note that being 'inferior' doesn't imply that it's unsafe.
Question
Is human consumption of synthetic astaxanthin (via capsule, salmon, or any other means) safe?
Best Answer
Yes, the FDA has determined that astaxanthin is "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS), at 0.15 mg/serving. This doesn't indicate whether there are any health considerations associated with it (that's not on topic for this site), but it's not poisonous.
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Is synthetic astaxanthin in salmon safe?
The FEEDAP Panel considers synthetic astaxanthin safe for salmonids up to 100 mg/kg complete diet. The conclusion on the safety of astaxanthin for salmonids can be extrapolated to other fish and ornamental fish at the same dose. Dietary concentrations of up to 100 mg astaxanthin/kg feed are safe for crustaceans.Is synthetic astaxanthin safe?
Due to safety concerns with the use of synthetic forms of other carotenoids such as canthaxanthin and beta-carotene in humans, the authors recommend against the use of S-AX as a human nutraceutical supplement until extensive, long-term safety parameters have been established and human clinical trials have been ...What is synthetic astaxanthin made of?
It is noteworthy that astaxanthin synthesized in nature occurs in the trans form (3S, 3S), whereas synthetic astaxanthin is a mixture of two optical isomers and the meso form at a ratio of 1:2:1 (3R, 3\u2032R), (3R, 3\u2032S) and (3S, 3\u2032S) (Figure 1) [54].What is astaxanthin for fish?
Astaxanthin is an antioxidant approved as an additive for salmon, trout and shrimp whose reported health benefits in animals include faster growth, better feed conversion rates, improved disease resistance and reduced embryonic mortality.Best Source of Omega-3, Organic Meat - \
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Answer 2
According to a meta-study from 2014, there are no negative health effects associated with consumption of astaxanthin, even in doses more than 100X greater than what is found in salmon. This is true whether the astaxanthin come from krill or is grown from yeast for farmed salmon:
Astaxanthin is safe, with no side effects when it is consumed with food. It is lipid soluble, accumulates in animal tissues after feeding of astaxanthin to rats and no toxic effects were found [15,17,133] ... Supratherapeutic concentrations of astaxanthin had no adverse effects on platelet, coagulation and fibrinolytic function [139]. Research has so far reported no significant side effects of astaxanthin consumption in animals and humans. These results support the safety of astaxanthin for future clinical studies.
Additionally, yeast-grown astaxanthin is currently being researched as a dietary supplement because of beneficial effects on the heart, eyes, and tissues, and may contribute to beneficial weight loss.
So, to sum up: it's not bad for you, and is probably even good for you.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Dids, Dids, Steve Johnson, Dids