Specialists from the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics of the Russian Academy of Sciences isolated a natural antioxidant from red algae and successfully used it to protect mitochondria in heart failure. It is included in a drug called astaxanthin.
Michondrial dysfunction often accompanies cardiac pathologies, so maintaining normal mitochondrial function is very important in protecting the heart. As a result of experiments with laboratory rodents, the protein prohibitin was identified, which changes during the oxidative process. The use of astaxanthin increases its level to normal values, which in turn helps restore the normal functionality of mitochondria and their fusion.