Abstract
Astaxanthin has been favored as health food supplements by obese consumers. However, no detailed descriptions are available concerning the absorption of astaxanthin in obese individuals. In this study, we conducted acute and chronic feeding experiments in C57BL/6J mice to study the differences of astaxanthin absorption in normal and obese bodies. The obesity condition greatly decreased astaxanthin concentration in blood and liver, its accumulation in tissues and ogans, and the bioaccessibility. This may be related to the excessive intake of sucrose, fatty acids and cholesterol, the inceased gastrointestinal motility and the disorder of gut microbiota in obese body. Overall, our study showed that the obese body had a far less oral absorbability of astaxanthin than normal body, and we suggest that the recommended or approved doses of astaxanthin can be properly increased for the obese body in the hope that astaxanthin will play a more active role in obese individuals.
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