Astaplus

Astaplus® consists of free flowing beadlets and contains 10% astaxanthin in a protective matrix. Astaxanthin plays an important role in enhancing flesh coloration of farmed salmonids which is desired by consumers. Since salmonids lack the ability to synthesize astaxanthin de novo, the pigment must be incorporated into their diets. In some countries Astaplus® is also used for shrimp pigmentation. Astaxanthin being the most valuable microalgal compounds. Haematococcus pluvialis strain is the richest source of astaxanthin (Mezzomo and Ferreira, 2016; Zaheer, 2017). This substance gives the pinkish-red hue to the salmonids (salmons and trout), shrimps, lobsters and crabs and has an important role in their immune-system and fertility. Nutritionally, astaxanthin is the most powerful antioxidant in the nature, with role to scavenge efficiently free radicals from the human body (Koller et al., 2014).