Scientists from different countries had carried out lots of researches and studies on the effects of Natural Astaxanthin in enhancing immunity since 1990. The earlier studies on mouse showed astaxanthin had an better immunomodulating effect than beta carotene and lutein, because astaxanthin partially restored antibody production to a greater extent than did lutein and beta carotene.

Further study using adult human blood and umbilical cord blood of newborn babies found astaxanthin, a carotene without vitamin A activity, enhanced human munoglobulin production in response to T-dependent stimuli, while beta carotene was not effective.
One recent study measured Astaxanthin’s and several other carotenoids’potency as immune enhancers. Astaxanthin did considerably more at equal dosage levels than all other carotenoids, including lutein, lycopene, zeaxanthin and canthaxanthin. Astaxanthin alone suppressed interferon-gamma production and increased the number of antibody-secreting cells.

Astaxanthin was again tested against beta carotene and canthaxanthin. it was found that astaxanthin performed much better with immunoglobulin enhancement than anthaxanthin and beta carotene at euqal doses. Meanwhile the release of inflammatory markers TNF-a and IL-1a were also enhanced. Astaxanthin can help reducing Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium found in the stomach that can lead to stomach cancer. It states that astaxanthin is not only free radical scavengers but also shows antimicrobial activity against H. pylori. Astaxanthin can help prevent certain types of gastric cancer and other stomach ailments by changing the immune response to H. pylori by shifting the Th1 response towards a Th2 T-cell response.

Astaxanthin works through many different pathways to support healthy immune function. As a strong immune system stimulator. The study results showed that astaxanthin:
Stimulates lymphocyte proliferation
Amplifies natural killer cell cytotoxic activity
Produces increased number of T-cells
Dramatically reduces DNA damage
Greatly increases delayed-type hypersensitivity response
Increases the number of antibody producing B-cells

Astaxanthin’s positive effects on immunity have been proved in lots of animal and in vitro studies involving many diseases such as cancer.
In our study, researchers found that Astaxanthin inhibited the growth of the cancerous tumors in a dose-dependent fashion. A similar study also showed that when Astaxanthin supplementation helped inhibit tumor growth at one week prior to the tumor inoculation.
However, there was no benefits when the supplementation began with the tumor inoculation. It was concluded that astaxanthin may work better in the early stages of tumor growth.

Astaxanthin’s outstanding properties as an anti-inflammatory also play a major role in its ability to enhance immune function. Due to the multitude of ways in which Astaxanthin combats inflammation, it is a very special anti-inflammatory indeed. Astaxanthin works to suppress different inflammatory mediators. Among these mediators are tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a), prostaglandin E-2 (PGE-2), interleukin 1B (IL-1b) and nitric oxide (NO) as well as the Cox-2 enzyme and nuclear factor kappa-B.It is evident from the vast amount of research already completed that Astaxanthin has outstanding immune enhancing effects, and may be an excellent aid in the prevention of cancer, in the reduction of tumors and in the treatment of people with inflammatory and autoimmune conditions.