Research

Hormonal

Astaxanthin supplementation (0.02% in diet) ameliorates insulin resistance and stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle of high-fat-diet-induced obese mice by activating the AMPK pathway.

In obese mouse models, consuming 0.02% Astaxanthin in the diet for 24 weeks improved insulin sensitivity and increased mitochondrial density in muscle by activating the AMPK pathway. This effect was independent of antioxidant activity in the muscle itself. Human translation requires caution as this was a murine model with specific dietary conditions.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
We concluded that AX treatment stimulated mitochondrial biogenesis and significantly ameliorated insulin resistance through activation of AMPK pathway in the skeletal muscle.
Yasuhiro Nishida et al. · Journal of Cachexia Sarcopenia and Muscle · 2020

Why this rating

High-quality mechanistic data in mice with rigorous controls (clamps, siRNA knockdown), but lacks human clinical trials.

Source

Astaxanthin stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis in insulin resistant muscle via activation of AMPK pathway

Yasuhiro Nishida et al. · Journal of Cachexia Sarcopenia and Muscle · 2020

DOI 10.1002/jcsm.12530

mechanism_onlyCited 175×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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