Astaxanthin may counter the effects of sarcopenia in the elderly

As people age, their muscles tend to degenerate. This leads to a debilitating condition called sarcopenia. Researchers estimate that a person loses one to two percent of their muscle mass each year after they turn 50. Moreover, muscle loss is accompanied by a 1.5 percent decline in strength, which can increase to three percent after the age of 60.

Although exercise and proper nutrition can significantly improve sarcopenia, some people need extra help from medications or hormone therapy. These conventional treatments account for 1.5 percent of the total health care expenditures in the U.S., highlighting the importance of finding appropriate remedies that don’t cost as much as current treatments do. Moreover, medications and hormone therapy for sarcopenia still aren’t well-studied, so they may cause adverse side effects that are yet to be addressed.

Researchers from the University of Washington wanted to come up with a natural supplement that could improve the conditions of patients with sarcopenia. They found that a formulation containing astaxanthin, vitamin E tocotrienol, and zinc significantly improved muscle strength in elderly subjects. This formulation was given alongside exercise training, which had less notable results when done alone.

In this study, which was published in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, the researchers gathered 42 elderly participants between 65 to 82 years old and assessed how the formulation enhanced the benefits of exercise training. The treatments were given one month before the start of the training period, which lasted for three months. The authors then determined the efficacy of the astaxanthin formulation based on parameters like muscle strength and size.

Results showed that the astaxanthin supplement improved endurance and the walking distance covered in six minutes. However, these results were also observed in patients receiving the placebo. Beneficial results that were only seen for the astaxanthin group include an increase in maximal voluntary force, muscle size, and specific force. The researchers attributed these effects to the antioxidant properties of the astaxanthin formulation since oxidative stress can interfere with signals for fixing dama