Lemnaceae Fermentation Inc.

LemnaRed® is a red-brown powder produced by fermentation. It contains natural astaxanthin and small amount of other carotenoids such as lycopene and β-carotene, zeaxanthin and canthaxanthin.

Depending on its origin, astaxanthin can be found in a variety of configurations, such as stereoisomers, esterified, and free forms. Two chiral centers at the 3 and 3’ positions of the terminal rings of astaxanthin produce three stereoisomers: two enantiomers (3S, 3’S and 3R, 3’R) and a meso form (3R, 3’S). It can also be found free or esterified with various fatty acids in one or both hydroxyl groups at the ends of the molecule. Chemically synthetic astaxanthin is not esterified and consists of a mixture 1:2:1 of isomers (3S, 3’S), (3R, 3’S), and (3R, 3’R) respectively. H. pluvialis. biosynthesizes (3S, 3’S)-isomer, which is esterified with fatty acids at one or both ends. In contrast, astaxanthin derived from P. rhodozyma- and P. carotinifaciens are both free from esterification, but comprise differ isomers, (3R, 3’R) and (3S, 3’S)-isomer, respectively.

Astaxanthin, believed to be the most powerful antioxidant in the world. Compared with other antioxidants, astaxanthin is 550 times stronger than vitamin E and 6,000 times stronger than vitamin C in terms of antioxidant potency. Not only good for human dietary supplement, astaxanthin is also apply in aquaculture as a color enhancer. For salmon and trout, it is an essential nutrient and is responsible for their flesh pigmentation. For ornamental fishes, it improves the hatching rate and enriches their skin.