Astaxanthin Enhanced Endurance and Muscle Support in Just 4 Days

By: Susan Hamrahi|
July 16, 2025

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Categories: Cardiovascular Health, Sports Nutrition

Tags: antioxidant, exercise, health, healthy, mitochondria, training

A study published in BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation investigated the effects of short-term AstaReal® Astaxanthin supplementation on exercise performance and markers of muscle damage and oxidative stress. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial, 10 healthy, physically active male college students consumed 28 mg of AstaReal® Astaxanthin or placebo daily for 4 days. Each dose was taken after a standardized breakfast, followed by a cycling test to exhaustion at 75% of maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max)—a key measure of aerobic capacity and cardiovascular fitness.

Exercising at 75% of VO₂max means a person is working at three-quarters of their maximum aerobic capacity. If 100% VO₂max is the hardest a person can possibly go (like an all-out sprint they can only hold for a few minutes) then 75% is a strong, steady pace one can maintain for a longer time, but it’s still challenging.

In this study, participants cycled at that 75% level (just below their personal “redline”) until they couldn’t continue. This allowed the researchers to see how astaxanthin might help improve that performance. Key findings showed that AstaReal® Astaxanthin significantly extended time to exhaustion (TTE) by over 13 minutes on average compared to placebo (85.4 vs. 72.1 minutes, p = 0.001).

In addition, two common markers of muscle damage, creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), were significantly lower in the astaxanthin group post-exercise.  These enzymes normally stay inside muscle cells. When muscle fibers are damaged, small amounts of CK and LDH leak into the bloodstream; higher levels usually indicate more muscle breakdown. This suggests that astaxanthin’s antioxidant and mitochondrial benefits may have helped protect the muscle cells during exercise, reducing the amount of damage and the leakage of these enzymes which may also translates to less delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and faster recovery as shown in a previous study in resistance trained men.

Astaxanthin has long been known for its antioxidant superpower. Particularly its ability to integrate into and stabilize cell membranes, where it can neutralize free radicals before they cause damage. During strenuous aerobic exercise, oxygen consumption increases dramatically, and so does the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are unstable molecules that can damage cells, especially cell membranes. One of the main consequences of excessive ROS is lipid peroxidation, where the fats in cell membranes get oxidized. This damages the structural integrity of cells, leading to exercise induced inflammation, impaired recovery, and longer-term performance limitations.

In addition, lipid peroxidation was measured by malondialdehyde (MDA), a well-established biomarker of oxidative damage. The results showed that astaxanthin supplementation clearly blunted the rise in MDA, suggesting that it helped neutralize ROS and protect lipid membranes from oxidative damage. In contrast, MDA levels rose significantly in the placebo group during the same exercise protocol, indicating higher oxidative stress.

These results support the potential of AstaReal® Astaxanthin as a bioactive ingredient to enhance endurance performance and mitigate exercise-induced muscle damage and oxidative stress.