Recent Advances of Stability and Stabilization Technology of Natural Astaxanthin

Natural astaxanthin is the strongest antioxidant in nature, and shows many physiological functions such as anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and immune regulation. Astaxanthin has been widely used in the fields of food, medicine and cosmetics. However, natural astaxanthin is unstable and easily degraded during extraction, storage and processing. Therefore, many studies have focused on improving the stability of astaxanthin. In this paper, the factors and mechanisms affecting the stability of astaxanthin are introduced from three aspects: The astaxanthin structure, extraction solvent and the processing and storage environment. The basic principles, effects, advantages and disadvantages of existing astaxanthin stabilization systems, such as emulsions, microcapsules, liposomes, nanoparticles and nanodispersions are compared. The water solubility, stability and bioavailability of astaxanthin can be enhanced to varying degrees, while there are generally shortcomings of complex process and high cost. Future research should focus on the basic theory of various stabilization technologies, and promote the development of astaxanthin stabilization systems to be more efficient, green and intelligent with the help of molecular simulation technology.