Crustacea (Carotenoids namely Astaxanthins) against cancer

Abstract

In this chapter, we are putting our focus on biologically active compounds that are taken from natural resources, specifcally compounds that act on molecular targets and are involved in several diseases in the human body. One of the most well-known biologically active compounds is astaxanthin, which is a xanthophyll carotenoid found in Haematococcus pluvialis, Chlorella zofngiensis, Chlorococcum and Phaffa rhodozyma. Astaxanthin has shown to provide a wide range of benefcial health benefts on the metabolism and in several organ systems of the human body including cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders, endocrine diseases, ophthalmic diseases, rheumatological diseases, dermatological diseases, immunological diseases, nephrological disorders and obstetrics and gynaecological conditions, including pre-eclampsia and fertility. Additionally, astaxanthin has shown to provide a comprehensive set of activities which are benefcial to the human body such as anti-cancer activity, anti-infammatory activity, antiapoptotic activity, anti-oxidant activity and anti-cancer activity. Moreover, astaxanthin is found to be effective in enhancing sports performance during physical activity and therapeutic for the smoking population due to the high anti-oxidant activity found in astaxanthin.