Astaxanthin supplementation does not attenuate muscle injury following eccentric exercise in resistance-trained men

This investigation was designed to determine the effects of astaxanthin on markers of skeletal muscle injury. Twenty resistance trained men (mean +/- standard error of the mean: age, 25.1 +/- 1.6 y; height, 1.79 +/- 0.02 m; weight, 86.8 +/- 4.4 kg) were assigned to either a placebo (1732 mg safflower oil, n = 10) or astaxanthin (BioAstin; 1732 mg safflower oil; haematococcus algae extract [contains 4 mg astaxanthin and 480 mg lutein], n = 10). Subjects consumed their assigned treatment for 3 wk prior to eccentric exercise (10 sets of 10 repetitions at 85% of one repetition maximum) and through 96 h post-exercise. Muscle soreness, creatine kinase (CK), and muscle performance was measured before and through 96 h post-exercise. A similar response was observed for both treatment groups for all dependent variables, indicating that in resistance trained men, astaxanthin supplementation does not favorably affect indirect markers of skeletal muscle injury following eccentric loading.