Feed-grade Astaxanthin Application Upgrade: From Colorant to Animal Health Regulator

Salmon that consumeastaxanthin-supplemented diets exhibit brighter body color in aquaculture ponds, and poultry and livestock have significantly better immune systems. This green additive subtly transforms traditional farming models.

The feed industry has adopted the antibiotic-free policy over the past few years, which has facilitated the expansion of the functional feed additive market. Feed grade astaxanthin is a natural antioxidant that is currently being used as a product enhancer, an immunity booster, and a farming efficiency booster rather than a color additive.

Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant that naturally colors the meat of the salmon pink-orange and increases the production of eggs by poultry, which makes it useful to the aquaculture and livestock industries. There are radical changes occurring in the production of astaxanthin operation due to synthetic biology.

1. Origin and Characteristics of Astaxanthin

The antioxidant, red-pigmented astaxanthin is a ketocarotenoid that possesses excellent pigment deposition abilities. It is much more effective compared to other carotenoids and vitamin E, and the free radical scavenging (antioxidant) ability of astaxanthin is significantly (several hundred times) greater compared to vitamin E.

Astaxanthinis naturally found in shrimp and crab and fish, and certain varieties of algae and fungi. Astaxanthin is currently produced by natural extraction, chemical synthesis and biological fermentation.

The main constituent of synthetic astaxanthin is the cis isomer, which is less absorbed by animal bodies than naturally occurring astaxanthin. Naturally occurring astaxanthin is absorbed more effectively by the body and is not toxic. The microalga Haematococcus pluvialis contains higher levels of astaxanthin than the yeast Phaffia rhodozyma.

Today's production of astaxanthin has a novel aspect of synthetic biology that renders the production of astaxanthin less expensive. The yeast that has been manufactured by scientists has the ability to be grown in large tanks without any worry of the weather. The method is also cheaper than the production of astaxanthin in the standard approach.

Astaxanthin now serves more than just a coloring function in animal feed, because it provides multiple health benefits instead of functioning only as a colorant.

The most straightforward method used for assessing product quality involves color measurement. Astaxanthin gets deposited in shrimp, salmonids, and poultry bodies which leads to better flesh coloring and body surface pigmentation, and egg yolk coloring, which remains its primary application. The bright color of the final products serves as a direct indicator of superior quality farming practices, which result in significant financial benefits.

The advantage of astaxanthin is its antioxidant and anti-stress effects. Its free radical-neutralizing ability is due to its special molecular structure. The animals in modern intensive farming are exposed to continuous heat stress, transport stress, and other stressors. Astaxanthin increases the antioxidant capacity of cell membranes such that it protects the liver and sustains production performance.

It helps in the growth and development of the immune system. It enhances appetite, improves gut health, and strengthens the innate immune response through gene activity regulation. Astaxanthin not only provides health benefits but also supports growth and development to increase aquaculture efficiency.

Astaxanthinfurther enhances the nutritional value of livestock. Diets supplemented with astaxanthin resulted in low and uniform muscle fat content and improved meat texture and flavor.

Several problems exist in the astaxanthin business, which include high prices, low output, and unstable performance. The chemical is easily oxidized. High temperatures and dry conditions during feed processing and oxygen exposure during feed storage will substantially reduce the efficacy of the feed. The advancement of nanotechnology allows scientists to develop strong astaxanthin microcapsules that are easily digested by the body. Microcapsules with multiple astaxanthin layers are shielded by multiple layers. The astaxanthin nanoparticles are encapsulated in lipid shells and then encapsulated in aqueous wall materials to shield astaxanthin from oxygen exposure and enhance its heat processing stability and nutritional bioavailability.

One of the revolutionary inventions is Synthetic biology. Yeast-based production is independent of climate, conducted in industrial workshops with controlled quality and lower costs, making astaxanthin more economically viable for high-end aquafeeds.

Astaxanthin can be produced through microalgae fermentation or chemical synthesis. Microalgae-derived astaxanthin is generally used in food additives and health products, while chemically synthesizedastaxanthin is the main source for fish feed.

Enhanced production technology allows manufacturers to produce synthetic astaxanthin, which is already comparable to natural astaxanthin, thus having a broader scope of application.

Market Opportunity and Positioning of Industries

The astaxanthin market is on a steep upward growth path. There is a significant supply shortfall and potential growth. Astaxanthin has minimal current utilization to satisfy demand in the aquafeed sector.

Today, the market is still under the control of synthetic astaxanthin. It is mainly used by fish farms as a feed additive. The market share of natural astaxanthin will slowly increase due to the increased demand by consumers for natural products.

In the following five years, the feed-grade astaxanthin industry will move through three stages in development. First, it will be technology-driven, then, scale-driven and finally brand-driven. The entry of more companies in the market will reduce the production costs and also broaden the uses of astaxanthin.

The tendency to use astaxanthin in aquafeed is high. The demand for natural astaxanthin will increase with the growing awareness of the health benefits of astaxanthin. The innovations in synthetic biology are decreasing the cost of production, and this is hastening the feed market to embrace this red gold in large numbers.

New developments in feed formulation technology have resulted in an annual increase in the quantity of astaxanthin in specialty aquafeeds. Local biotech companies have increased the output and stability of astaxanthin through modern fermentation processes, driving the aquaculture industry towards higher efficiency and quality.

At some point in the future, synthetic biology can be used to reduce the price of producing astaxanthin in the future. In the subsequent step, the usage of this mega-antioxidant will be expanded to conventional livestock and poultry feed, having already been used in high-end aquaculture. This will also ensure that consumers receive better quality animal products.