Effects of astaxanthin ingestion on exercise-induced physiological changes
2004 Volume 3 Issue 1 Pages 5-10
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2004 Volume 3 Issue 1 Pages 5-10
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of astaxantin（ACT）ingestion on exercise-induced physiological functions. In this experiment we planned to investigate the autonomic nervous system（ANS）and the respiratory metabolism during different exercise intensities in subjects taking astaxantin and those taking placebo. The design of this experiment was a double-blind crossover study.
Eighteen male volunteers（35.8±4.51 years of age）took ACT or placebo（CON）capsule daily for two weeks. Exercise stress tests were done before and after the ingestion period. The exercise load was in the form of running exercise on a treadmill at intensities of 30％, 50％ and 70％ of maximum heart rate（HRmax）．Heart rate variability（HRV），expired gases analysis and blood biochemical parameters were measured. Sympathetic nervous activity（SNA）and parasympathetic nervous activity（PNA）were estimated from the pattern of power density in three frequency ranges on the power spectrum.
During the exercise at an intensity of 70％ HRmax, CVRR and HF/TF increased significantly（p<0.05）after ACT ingestion. Additionally, VE decreased significantly（p<0.05）during exercise at 70％ HRmax after ACT ingestion. These data indicated that after ACT ingestion, SNA was decreased and PNA was enhanced during exercises at 70％ HRmax. Furthermore LDL cholesterol decreased markedly after exercise（p<0.05）and respiratory quotient decreased during exercise. These results suggest that ACT may contribute to enhancement of lipid metabolism. Decrease of respiratory parameters may indicate augmentation of the efficacy of exercise in energy metabolism.
