Bioavailability of astaxanthin stereoisomers from wild ( Oncorhynchusspp.) and aquacultured ( Salmo salar) salmon in healthy men: a randomised, double-blind study

• Published in: British Journal of Nutrition
• Main Authors: Rüfer, Corinna E., Moeseneder, Jutta, Briviba, Karlis, Rechkemmer, Gerhard, Bub, Achim
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2008
• Subjects: Salmo salar
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0007114507845521; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0007114507845521

The objective of the present study was to investigate the bioavailability and the configurational isomer distribution of the carotenoid astaxanthin (AST) in human plasma after ingestion of wild ( Oncorhynchus spp.) and aquacultured ( Salmo salar ) salmon. In a randomised and double-blind trial, twenty-eight healthy men consumed 250 g wild or aquacultured salmon daily for 4 weeks which provided 5 μg AST/g salmon flesh. The plasma AST concentrations as well as the isomer distribution were measured by HPLC using a reversed and a chiral stationary phase. After 6 d of intervention with salmon, plasma AST concentrations reached a plateau of 39 nmol/l after consumption of wild salmon and of 52 nmol/l after administration of aquacultured salmon. At days 3, 6, 10 and 14 – but not at day 28 – the AST concentrations in human plasma were significantly greater after ingestion of aquacultured salmon. After administration of wild salmon, the (3 S ,3′ S ) isomer predominated in plasma (80 %), whereas after intake of aquacultured salmon the meso form (3 R ,3′ S ) prevailed (48 %). Therefore, the AST isomer pattern in human plasma resembles that of the ingested salmon. However, after consumption of both wild and aquacultured salmon for 28 d the relative proportion of the (3 S ,3′ S ) isomer was slightly higher and the (3 R ,3′ R ) form lower in human plasma compared with the isomer distribution in salmon flesh. A selective process of isomer absorption could be responsible for the observed differences in the relative proportions of the (3 S ,3′ S ) and (3 R ,3′ R ) isomers in human plasma compared with salmon flesh.