[Latin Name] Haematococcus Pluvialis

[Plant Source] from China

[Specifications]1% 2% 3% 5%

[Appearance] Dark red Powder

[Particle size] 80 Mesh

[Loss on drying] ≤5.0%

[Heavy Metal] ≤10PPM

[Storage] Store in cool & dry area, keep away from the direct light and heat.

[Shelf life] 24 Months

[Package] Packed in paper-drums and two plastic-bags inside.

[Net weight] 25kgs/drum

Brief Introduction

Astaxanthin is a natural nutritional component, it can be found as a food supplement. The supplement is intended for human, animal, and aquaculture consumption.

Astaxanthin is a carotenoid. It belongs to a larger class of phytochemicals known as terpenes, which are built from five carbon precursors; isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate . Astaxanthin is classified as a xanthophyll (originally derived from a word meaning “yellow leaves” since yellow plant leaf pigments were the first recognized of the xanthophyll family of carotenoids), but currently employed to describe carotenoid compounds that have oxygen-containing moities, hydroxyl or ketone , such as zeaxanthin and canthaxanthin. Indeed, astaxanthin is a metabolite of zeaxanthin and/or canthaxanthin, containing both hydroxyl and ketone functional groups. Like many carotenoids, astaxanthin is a colorful, lipid-soluble pigment. This colour is due to the extended chain of conjugated (alternating double and single) double bonds at the centre of the compound. This chain of conjugated double bonds is also responsible for the antioxidant function of astaxanthin (as well as other carotenoids) as it results in a region of decentralized electrons that can be donated to reduce a reactive oxidizing molecule.

Function:

1.Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant and may protect against oxidative damage to body tissues.

2.Astaxanthin can improve the immune response by increasing the number of antibody producing cells.

3.Astaxanthin is a potential candidate to treat neurodegenerative disease such as Alzhimer and Parkinson diease.

4.Astaxanthin dan reduce UVA-light damage to skin such as sunburn, inflammation, ageing and skin cancer.

Application

1.When applied in pharmaceutical field, astaxanthin powder has the good function of antineoplastic;

2.When applied in health food field, astaxanthin powder is used as food additives for pigment and health care;

3.When applied in cosmetic field, astaxanthin powder has the good function of antioxidant and anti-aging;

4.When applied in animal feeds field, astaxanthin powder is used as animal feed additive to impart coloration, including farm-raised salmon and egg yolks.

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Tomasz Ciach Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, Member of the Board of NanoVelos Sp. ,Warsaw (PL)
CLINAM 7/ 2014, 7th Conference and Exhibition,
June 23-25, 2014

Contact me at kgahern@davincipress.com
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Carbohydrates Lecture II Highlights

1. The Haworth form of a sugar is the cyclic form with an anomeric carbon. The Fischer form of a sugar is straight chained.
2. Disaccharides include sucrose, lactose, and maltose.
3. Sucrose is a non-reducing sugar, whereas lactose is a reducing sugar .
4. Linking together of more than one sugar residues creates higher order saccharides. These include disaccharides (two sugars), trisaccharides (three sugars), oligosaccharides (several sugars), and polysaccharides (many sugars).
5. Most of the linkages in higher order saccharides involve glycosidic bonds.
6. Oligosaccharides are components of glycoproteins.
7. The most common polysaccharides include glycogen (energy storage in animals), cellulose (structural integrity in plants), starch (energy storage in plants), chitin (exoskeleton of insects). Starch is comprised of a mixture of amylose and amylopectin.
8. Polysaccharides can be homopolymers (contain only one sugar residue) or heteropolymers (contain more than one sugar residue). Homopolymers include glycogen (glucose in alpha 1-4 linkages plus extensive alpha 1-6 branches), cellulose (glucose in beta 1-4 linkages), amylose (glucose in alpha 1-4 linkages), amylopectin (glucose in alpha 1-4 linkages plus some alpha 1-6 branches), and chitin (N-acetyl-D-glucosamine in beta 1-4 linkages).
9. Glycogen is an animal energy storage polysaccharide, amylopectin and amylose combine to form starch, which is a plant energy storage polysaccharide, cellulose is a plant structural polysaccharide, and chitin is a component of insect exoskeletons.
10. The enzyme cellulase is required to digest the beta 1-4 bonds of cellulose. Most animals do not contain cellulase. Ruminants and ungulates contain a bacterium that makes that enzyme.
11. Pectin is a polysaccharide of a modified sugar – galacturonic acid. I incorrectly stated in class that it is a glycosaminoglycan. It is not because it does not contain an amine group. Pectin is used as a thickening agent in foods like jellies.
12. Glycosaminoglycans are polysaccharides that contain either N-acetylgalactosamine or N-acetylglucosamine as one of their monomeric units. They are polyanionic and have interesting chemical properties, as a result. Examples include chondroitin sulfates and keratan sulfates of connective tissue, dermatan sulfates, heparin, hyaluronic acid, and others.
13. Lectins are proteins that bind to specific carbohydrates. They are called phytohemagluttinins in plants. They are used 1) in the immune system to recognize bacteria non-specifically and 2) by bacteria/viruses to attached to specific structures on the surface of cells to assist in attachment to the cell for the purpose of injecting nucleic acid. The flu virus enters the cell in this way. Exit of the flu virus from cells requires action of an enzyme called neuraminidase and it is this enzyme that is inhibited by the drug Tamiflu. When neuraminidase is inhibited, the flu virus can’t exit the cell and tends to aggregate.
14. The term glycolipids refers to lipids attached to carbohydrates. Common ones include sphingolipids, such as cerebrosides (attachment of one sugar) and gangliosides (attachment of complex carbohydrates).
15. Glycosaminoglycans are polymers of pairs of modified sugars. At least one of the sugars of each pair is negatively charged, such as glucuronic acid, creating a polyanionic compound.
16. Peptidoglycans are created when glycosaminoglycans are attached to peptides.
17. Glycoproteins are proteins attached to oligosaccharides. Attachment of the oligosaccharide is by two methods – N-linked oligosaccharides in glycoproteins are attached to the R-group amine of asparagine in a protein. This occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus. O-linked oligosaccharides in glycoproteins are attached to the R-group hydroxides of serine/threonine in a protein. This occurs only in the Golgi apparatus.
18. Glycosylation patters of glycoproteins typically have a common core at the point of attachment to the protein and then the exterior oligosaccharide structures vary in composition.
19. Glycoproteins are important in cellular identity – transplant rejection, for example and they determine the various blood types.
20. Hyaluronan is a peptidolglycan (the glycosaminoglycan attached to it is hyaluronic acid) that is important in synovial fluid to lubricate joints.
21. Peptidoglycans and glycosaminoglycans often hava a “slimy” feel to them. Examples include chondroitin sulfate and heparin. Heparin is the material with the highest know density of negative charges arises from having sulfates in the monomers comprising it.