MUSCLE
AstaREAL improves
muscle endurance
®
Clinical studies have shown that AstaREAL® astaxanthin improves performance in cyclists and young men
could do more knee bends with intake of astaxanthin
compared to a placebo group. The fact that AstaREAL®
improves muscle endurance is explained by its ability to
support muscle function and improve aerobic power. This
is due to astaxanthins powerful antioxidant capacity and
anti-inflammatory effects. Since strong and vital muscles
are important for a joyful and an active lifestyle,
AstaREAL® contributes to increase the quality of life.
Intensive training increases oxidative stress
Intensive physical activity can increase the amount of reactive free
radicals up to 100 times due to a greater stress on muscle fibers
and an enhanced metabolism (1,2). Free radicals will increase the
oxidative stress and damage cells by triggering oxidation of lipids,
proteins and DNA . In that way, oxidative stress can alter muscular
The Swedish Cross Country Ski Team is happy users of Astaxin which is based on AstaREAL®.
Effects of AstaREAL®
on muscle
performance
Boosts muscle endurance
and recovery
Lowers lactic acid and
fatigue
Reduces muscle damage
and inflammation
Improves blood flow and
the quality of red blood
cells
Enhances fat metabolism by improving
mitochondria function
MUSCLE
The research on AstaREAL® is showing impressive
results for muscles thanks to the ability of astaxanthin to protect cells and membranes from oxidative
stress. The first study to establish that AstaREAL®
improves muscle endurance was conducted by
Swedish scientists at 1998 (3). Forty-two healthy
men were supplemented with 4 mg AstaREAL® astaxanthin for 6 months in this randomized double blind
study. The group treated with astaxanthin could
perform significantly more knee bends compared
to the placebo group (Fig 1). Later it was found in
runners that AstaREAL® reduced lactic acid during
1200m sprint and by so doing decreased fatigue
(4). These results have further been confirmed in several animal studies where it is found that astaxanthin reduced lactic acid, improved fat burning and
enhanced muscle endurance. (5,6). Comparing to
other antioxidants, astaxanthin is found to have the
best ability to enhance muscle endurance (Fig 2) (7).
In a study during 2011, it was found for the first time
that cyclists could perform better with AstaREAL® compared to a placebo group (8). In the study, 14 competitive amateur cyclists performed a 20 km maximal
biking test after 2 h constant intensity pre-exhaustion
ride. The test were made before and 28 days after
treatment of 4 mg/day of AstaREAL® astaxanthin or
placebo. The results were outstanding and the group
treated with AstaREAL® was biking 121 seconds
faster after the treatment period and it was significant
compared to the placebo group (Fig 3).
Number of knee bendings/person
Positive effects of AstaREAL® on
muscle performance
Better muscle endurance
80
AstaREAL® astaxanthin
75
Placebo
*
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
Baseline
3 months
6 months
Fig 1. Number of knee bends in healthy young men receiving
placebo or 4 mg of AstaREAL® astaxanthin per day.
(*p<0,05 compared with placebo) (3).
Increased swimming time
Control
AstaREAL® astaxanthin 30 mg/kg
β-carotene 30 mg/kg
30
Vit. E 100 mg/kg
Vit. C 100 mg/kg
*
25
Swimming time
contraction and damage enzymes important for the
aerobic and anaerobic pathways. In addition, free
radicals will reduce the capacity of the mitochondria
to generate energy, damage red blood cells and
activate inflammation. Finally, oxidative stress has
negative impact on recovery and on muscle performance.
20
15
10
5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Weeks
Fig 2. Effects of different antioxidant on swimming time in mice supplemented
with different antioxidants and placebo for 6 weeks.
(*p<0,05 compared with placebo) (7).
Higher performance in cyclists
Astaxanthin
Placebo
Improvement in time (Sec)
140
120
*
100
80
60
40
20
0
Fig 3. Improvement in time on 20 km biking test in cyclists supplemented with 4 mg/day of AstaREAL® astaxanthin or placebo during 28 days.
(*p<0,05 compared with placebo) (8).
Lowered muscle damage
Exercise placebo
Leg muscle
Rested control
AstaREAL® lowers muscle damage
and improves aerobic power
The mechanism of how astaxanthin improves muscle endurance is explained by its powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity. The first study
to show this effect was made in 2003 and it was
found that exercise increased oxidation and inflammation in muscles in rats meanwhile AstaREAL® astaxanthin significantly lowered this muscle damage (Fig 4).
(9) The anti-inflammatory effect of astaxanthin is
explained by its ability to suppress pro-inflammatory
cytokines by deactivating the transcription factor
NF-kβ (10). The anti-inflammatory effect of astaxanthin has further been established by a human study
(11). In addition, increased oxidative stress will
damage red blood cells and mitochondria which
lead to an impaired transportation of oxygen and a
lower amount of energy to the cells. It is demonstrated
in double blind randomized studies that astaxanthin
reduces oxidation of red blood cells in humans and
by so doing improves blood flow (12,13). Studies
have also found that astaxanthin improves fat burning
by enhancing the capacity of mitochondria (6,7,14).
These results explain how AstaREAL® astaxanthin
improves the aerobic power and therefore reduces
lactic acid.
Leg muscle
Summary
Rested control
Exercise control +
AstaREAL® astaxanthin
Fig 4. Cross section picture on leg muscle. Exercise increased muscle
damage and the cell membranes are destroyed, which is showed in black,
meanwhile intake of AstaREAL® astaxanthin reduced muscle damage (9).
The interest of astaxanthin is growing among scientists and new findings about muscle health and endurance are always surfacing. Several clinical studies
have established that AstaREAL® improves muscle
function and endurance by reducing muscle damage
and improving muscle metabolism. All these effects
are due to the ability of astaxanthin to protect membranes from oxidation. These findings are bringing
AstaREAL® astaxanthin to the forefront as a dietary
supplement for professional athletes and physically
active people.
LIN J A LS TH LM | A S TA R EA L EDI.2 ,1 2 1 1
REFERENCES
1.
Finaud J, Lac G, Filaire E. Sports Med. 2006;36(4):327-358
2.
Tian Y et al. Eur J Appl Physiol . 2010;110:971-976
3.
Malmsten CL, Lignell Å. Carotenoid Science. 2008;13:20-22
4.
Sawaki K et al. Journal of Clinical Therapeutics&Medicine. 2002;18(9);73-88
5.
Ikeuchi M, Koyama T, Takahashu J, Yazawa K. Biol Phram Bull. 2006;29(10)2106-2110
6.
Aoi W et al. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2008; 366(4):892-897
7.
Yamashita E. In: Anti Aging Therapeutics Volume XII. 2010. p:345-359. ISBN 978-1-934715-05-5
8.
Earnest CP et al. Int J Sports Med. 2011;32:882-888
9.
Aoi W et al. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2003;5(1):139-144
10. Lee SJ et al. Mol Cells. 2003;16(1):97-105
11. Park JS et al. Nutrition & Metabolism. 2010;7:18
12. Nakagawa K et al. Br J Nutr. 2011;31:1-9
13. Miyawaki H et al. Journal of Clinical Therapeutics and Medicines. 2008;21:4
14. Wolf AM et al. J Nutr Biochem. 2010;21(5):381-389
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Tel. +46 8 570 139 50 Fax. +46 8 570 139 51 Email: [email protected]
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