The effect of astaxanthin supplementation on performance and fat oxidation during a 40 km cycling time trial.

What this study found

Astaxanthin improved 40 km cycling performance and increased late-exercise fat oxidation. Time to complete the trial was faster with astaxanthin than placebo (69.90 ± 3.78 min vs 70.76 ± 3.93 min), corresponding to a 51 to 71 s, 1.2% improvement (p = 0.029). Mean power output was also higher (219.9 ± 28.7 W vs 213.8 ± 29.0 W; +6.1 to 9.5 W, p = 0.047). At 39 to 40 km, fat oxidation was greater (0.22 ± 0.05 g/min vs 0.13 ± 0.04 g/min; p = 0.044) and respiratory exchange ratio was lower (0.96 ± 0.01 vs 0.99 ± 0.02; p = 0.024).

Study & population

Twelve recreationally trained male cyclists participated in a placebo-controlled exercise study.

Intervention

Oral astaxanthin 12 mg/day (AstaReal, Sweden) was taken as two capsules daily, one in the morning and one in the evening, for 7 days.

Key limitation

The sample was very small (12 participants), which limits precision and increases the chance of chance findings.

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