Canthaxanthin—Colorant, or Antioxidant?

Canthaxanthin is both a colorant (pigment) and an antioxidant, which gives it unique market value and applications among the carotenoids.  As we learned in the June 2023 issue of Digest, canthaxanthin is one of the oxygen-containing (xanthophyll) carotenoids, featuring a deep orange/red color.  Canthaxanthin is found in nature in mushrooms, crustaceans, fish, egg yolks, and (unapproved use in the US!) tanning pills!  Brine shrimp, accumulate canthaxanthin pigment, imparts the famous pink color to salt harvested from Lake Burlinskoye in Siberia, popularized by Peter the Great.  Those same brine shrimp (Artemia salina) are available via mail-order in powder form as the Amazing Live Sea-Monkeys®—“just ADD WATER—that’s ALL!” to rehydrate and generate some “Instant Pets.”

The biological role of canthaxanthin is mixed among pigmentation, light capture, and antioxidant functions.  As an antioxidant, canthaxanthin activates nuclear factor erythroid 2 (Nrf2), which is a “master regulator” of cell survival.  Canthaxanthin is unique in that it has higher antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties than most carotenoids.

Commercial uses of Canthaxanthin

Canthaxanthin has widespread commercial use in color and quality of animal products, and health status in both humans and animals due to its efficacy as an antioxidant.  Major categories of usage in animal nutrition are listed in table 1 below.

Regulatory approvals for Canthaxanthin in Feeds and Foods in North America