Figure 1

Astaxanthin uptake, transport and deposition. The figure illustrates our current understanding of the astaxanthin pathway in salmonids. The uptake of astaxanthin from the intestine, transport in the blood and deposition in the muscle by the various lipoproteins is depicted. During sexual maturation/spawning migration (gray lines), the astaxanthin is redistributed from the muscle to the skin and gonads by the HDL.