Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36999233›Full record

ArticleDiabetes, obesity & metabolism2023

Astaxanthin, a natural antioxidant, lowers cholesterol and markers of cardiovascular risk in individuals with prediabetes and dyslipidaemia.

Theodore P Ciaraldi, Schafer C Boeder, Sunder R Mudaliar, Erin R Giovannetti, Robert R Henry, Jeremy H Pettus

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Diabetes, obesity & metabolism, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
4.1field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Review
  10. Astaxanthin fromMarine drugs · 2025
    Review
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Extraction and characterization of carotenoid pigments with antioxidant and antibacterial potential from marine yeast Rhodotorula sp. KSB1.International microbiology : the official journal of the Spanish Society for Microbiology · 2025
    Article
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Theodore P CiaraldiDepartment of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8609-3847
Schafer C BoederDepartment of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
Sunder R MudaliarDepartment of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4441-8508
Erin R GiovannettiDepartment of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
Robert R HenryDepartment of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
Jeremy H PettusDepartment of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
University of California San Diego · US

Funding

Diabetes-Docs: Physician-Scientist Career Development Program (DiabDocs)K12DK133995 · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2025 to 2025
$3.7M
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001442NIDDK NIH HHS K12 DK133995
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimTo determine the effects of astaxanthin treatment on lipids, cardiovascular disease (CVD) markers, glucose tolerance, insulin action and inflammation in individuals with prediabetes and dyslipidaemia. MATERIALS AND

methodsAdult participants with dyslipidaemia and prediabetes (n = 34) underwent baseline blood draw, an oral glucose tolerance test and a one-step hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamp. They were then randomized (n = 22 treated, 12 placebo) to receive astaxanthin 12 mg daily or placebo for 24 weeks. Baseline studies were repeated after 12 and 24 weeks of therapy.

resultsAfter 24 weeks, astaxanthin treatment significantly decreased low-density lipoprotein (-0.33 ± 0.11 mM) and total cholesterol (-0.30 ± 0.14 mM) (both P < .05). Astaxanthin also reduced levels of the CVD risk markers fibrinogen (-473 ± 210 ng/mL), L-selectin (-0.08 ± 0.03 ng/mL) and fetuin-A (-10.3 ± 3.6 ng/mL) (all P < .05). While the effects of astaxanthin treatment did not reach statistical significance, there were trends toward improvements in the primary outcome measure, insulin-stimulated, whole-body glucose disposal (+0.52 ± 0.37 mg/m

conclusionsAlthough the primary endpoint did not meet the prespecified significance level, these data suggest that astaxanthin is a safe over-the-counter supplement that improves lipid profiles and markers of CVD risk in individuals with prediabetes and dyslipidaemia.

Indexed as

Cardiovascular DiseasesDyslipidemiasPrediabetic StateAdultAntioxidantsBlood GlucoseCholesterolGlucoseHeart Disease Risk FactorsHumansInsulinRisk FactorsXanthophyllsAntioxidantsastaxanthineBlood GlucoseCholesterolGlucoseInsulinXanthophyllsantidiabetic drugcardiovascular diseaseclinical trialdyslipidaemiatype 2 diabetes

Identifiers

PMID36999233
PMCPMC10740106
OpenAlexW4362458263

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.