A well-known carotenoid, astaxanthin is heavily researched for its better antioxidant properties compared to other carotenoids in the current literature. Mostly it has been used in aquafeed as a colourant to enrich the fish colour. Only astaxanthin obtained from natural sources such as Haematococcus Pluvialis algae has been widely used in US and Europe as an approved colourant in food applications. Although people prefer natural astaxanthin over the synthetic one, there is no harm of synthetic astaxanthin to humans or animals has been reported. Latest research proved that astaxanthin can be consumed at any dosage over any period in humans and animals without any adverse effects. This is because astaxanthin does not get converted to Vitamin A in vivo, hence it is totally safe to humans, and it is highly effective even at low concentrations. As a result, various studies have been tested on the potential therapeutic use of astaxanthin in various human health conditions such as aging, diabetes, heart disease, eye health even cancer and the results are promising. It has also been studied as a sports performance enhancer and skin aging preventor. There may be more therapeutic use of this powerful antioxidant in human health care. However, there is no convincing research evidence that explains the bioavailability of astaxanthin inside the human body. Once this mechanism of complex digestion and absorption processes is understood, it will then open further research pathways of applying astaxanthin as an effective therapeutic agent in treating various health conditions in humans. This carotenoid can be sourced either from the microalgae or recovered from crustacea waste sustainably. A novel technique has been introduced on recovering astaxanthin from prawn waste using antisolvent precipitation technique. Further research is needed to effectively use this astaxanthin precipitate in pharmaceutical applications.

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