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Review
. 2021 May 28;10(6):870.
doi: 10.3390/antiox10060870.

Benefits of Exercise and Astaxanthin Supplementation: Are There Additive or Synergistic Effects?

Leandro Kansuke Oharomari  1   2 , Mitsushi J Ikemoto  3   4 , Dong Joo Hwang  1   2 , Hikaru Koizumi  1   2 , Hideaki Soya  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Benefits of Exercise and Astaxanthin Supplementation: Are There Additive or Synergistic Effects?

Leandro Kansuke Oharomari et al. Antioxidants (Basel). .

Abstract

A healthy lifestyle is essential for maintaining physical and mental health. Health promotion, with a particular emphasis on regular exercise and a healthy diet, is one of the emerging trends in healthcare. However, the way in which exercise training and nutrients from dietary intake interact with each other to promote additive, synergistic, or antagonistic effects on physiological functions leading to health promotion, and the possible underlying biomolecular mechanisms of such interactions, remain poorly understood. A healthy diet is characterized by a high intake of various bioactive compounds usually found in natural, organic, and fresh foodstuffs. Among these bioactive compounds, astaxanthin (ASX), a red carotenoid pigment especially found in seafood, has been recognized in the scientific literature as a potential nutraceutical due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neurotrophic properties. Therefore, scientists are currently exploring whether this promising nutrient can increase the well-known benefits of exercise on health and disease prevention. Hence, the present review aimed to compile and summarize the current scientific evidence for ASX supplementation in association with exercise regimes, and evaluate the additive or synergistic effects on physiological functions and health when both interventions are combined. The new insights into the combination paradigm of exercise and nutritional supplementation raise awareness of the importance of integrative studies, particularly for future research directions in the field of health and sports nutrition science.

Keywords: additive effect; astaxanthin; cognition; exercise; health; performance; synergic effect.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors received experimental resources from Nihon Pharmaceutics Company.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Astaxanthin’s non-stereochemical structural formula.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Astaxanthin cell-membrane insertion. Carbon (black circles). Oxygen (red circles). Polar region of bilayer phospholipid membrane (yellow circles). (Illustrations provided by Servier Medical Art, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 unported license (https://smart.servier.com accessed in 19 May 2021)).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Astaxanthin and exercise modulating cognitive function. ROS: reactive oxygen species. TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor-alpha. BDNF: brain-derived neurotrophic factor. IGF-1: insulin-like growth factor one. (Illustrations provided by Servier Medical Art, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 unported license (https://smart.servier.com accessed in 19 May 2021)).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Potential additive or synergistic effects between ASX and exercise.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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