Astaxanthin

The red carotenoid that colours salmon, shrimp and krill — measured in micrograms

All articles checked for accuracy against the GB NHC Register and all sources have citations with verified links to their relevant studies.

A red pigment from algae that colours salmon and krill, astaxanthin appears in microgram quantities across WellsparQ products. This page explains what the molecule is, where it comes from, and how WellsparQ declares and uses it.

This article covers the identity of astaxanthin, how it travels up the food chain, how WellsparQ includes it in two products, and the regulatory and safety context for discussing research. It highlights why the brand lists exact microgram amounts and what is — and is not — permitted to say about its effects.

Ingredient Snapshot

What it is

A red carotenoid pigment (a xanthophyll) found in algae and marine animals.

Where from

Produced by microalgae (Haematococcus pluvialis), some yeasts, or synthetically.

Known for

Responsible for the pink‑red colour in salmon, shrimp and krill; fat‑soluble and measured in micrograms.

In WellsparQ

• Krill 500 Oil100 µg (0.1 mg) — naturally occurring
• GlowMatrix Collagen0.2 mg (200 µg)

For reference

• Molecular weight≈ 596.8 g/mol ^¹⁵

Astaxanthin is the pigment behind a great deal of the ocean's red. It is the pink in a fillet of salmon, the coral flush of a cooked prawn, and the deep red of a bottle of krill oil. At WellsparQ it turns up in tiny, honestly declared amounts — a fraction of a milligram in one product, a hundred micrograms in another — usually as a natural companion to the ingredient it travels with, not a headline in its own right. This page explains what it is, where it comes from, and how the research on it should — and should not — be talked about.

The molecule and its colour

Astaxanthin is a carotenoid: one of the family of fat-soluble plant and algal pigments that also includes beta-carotene, lutein and lycopene. More precisely it is a xanthophyll, the oxygen-bearing branch of the family, and specifically a keto-carotenoid — its full chemical name is 3,3′-dihydroxy-β,β-carotene-4,4′-dione ^¹⁵.

The long chain of alternating double bonds that runs through the middle of the molecule is what absorbs light and produces the red colour. That same conjugated structure is the reason carotenoids are studied for their antioxidant chemistry — a topic we return to carefully below.

From alga to animal: how the red travels

Astaxanthin is made at the bottom of the food chain and works its way up. The best-known natural producer is the freshwater green microalga Haematococcus pluvialis, which accumulates astaxanthin — reportedly up to around 3.8% of its dry weight — when stressed by light or nutrient shortage. The red yeast Phaffia rhodozyma also makes it, and it can be produced synthetically ^¹.

Animals do not synthesise astaxanthin themselves. Salmon, trout, shrimp and krill acquire it by eating algae and smaller creatures that carry it, and it collects in their flesh and shells — which is exactly why these animals are pink or red ^¹. In farmed aquaculture, astaxanthin is the principal carotenoid added to feed to give salmon their familiar colour ^².

This food-chain story is the key to the two ways astaxanthin appears in the WellsparQ range.

How WellsparQ uses it

WellsparQ does not sell a stand-alone high-dose astaxanthin product. Instead it appears in small, declared amounts inside two formulas, and the reason differs in each.

Source: WellsparQ Supplements Database.

The Krill 500 Oil figure is worth reading slowly. The 100 µg is not a fortifying dose bolted on — it is the astaxanthin that comes with the krill itself, the natural pigment of Euphausia superba (Antarctic krill), which is what gives krill oil its characteristic red colour ^³. Declaring it is a matter of honest labelling rather than a benefit claim.

A clear note on suitability

Astaxanthin as a molecule is neither plant nor animal on its own — it depends on the source. But in the WellsparQ range it sits inside products that are, or may be, animal-derived, so this matters:

• Krill 500 Oil is not vegan or vegetarian. Krill are crustaceans, a marine animal and a recognised shellfish allergen. Anyone avoiding animal products, or allergic to shellfish, should avoid it.
• GlowMatrix Collagen contains collagen, which is commonly derived from fish (marine collagen) or cattle/pig (bovine/porcine) rather than plants. The astaxanthin is a minor component; the collagen base is the ingredient to check against dietary needs. Suitability must be read off that product's own declared collagen source.

Most WellsparQ formulas are vegan, kosher and halal; these two are the flagged exceptions on account of their marine and collagen content.

The evidence base, told as evidence

Astaxanthin is an actively researched carotenoid. Because its long conjugated backbone can quench reactive oxygen species in the laboratory, a large body of work has examined its antioxidant chemistry, and reviews have explored possible roles in skin, eye and cardiovascular research ^¹². It is fair and accurate to say that scientists have studied these questions. It would not be fair — or lawful in UK/EU advertising — to turn that research into a promise that a WellsparQ product does any of these things.

Two honest caveats belong here. First, much of the strongest antioxidant data comes from cell and laboratory models rather than everyday human outcomes, and human trials vary in size and quality ^¹. Second, and most importantly for this page, no health claim for astaxanthin has been authorised under the relevant food law, so there is no agreed, evidence-backed benefit statement a brand may use.

Safety and sensible intake

Astaxanthin has been eaten for as long as people have eaten salmon and shellfish, and food-safety authorities have looked at it closely. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) set an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of 0.2 mg per kg of body weight per day — about 12 mg a day for a 60 kg adult ^⁴. This ADI was first derived by EFSA's FEEDAP Panel in its 2019 opinion on astaxanthin-dimethyldisuccinate as a feed additive, replacing an earlier, lower figure, and was then applied in the food-supplement setting ^⁶. In its 2020 opinion on astaxanthin as a novel food in supplements, EFSA assessed use at levels up to 8 mg per day and considered dietary intake from fish and shellfish alongside it ^⁴.

Set against that, the WellsparQ amounts are very small: 0.1 mg in Krill 500 Oil and 0.2 mg in GlowMatrix Collagen sit far below the ADI^⁴. As with any supplement, anyone pregnant or breastfeeding, taking medication, or with a shellfish allergy (relevant to the krill product) should speak to a GP or pharmacist before starting.

Where it fits your day

In the WellsparQ range astaxanthin is a quiet passenger, not a destination. In Krill 500 Oil it is simply the colour the krill arrived with; in GlowMatrix Collagen it is a small, declared addition. Either way it is the same WellsparQ habit: name what is in the capsule, down to the microgram, and let people decide. Rooted in nature, backed by research — and told plainly.