BioMar released the results of the Asteasier fish trials

15 January 2025

With 2024, Asteasier also ended; just last year, the project achieved extraordinary results, which make us proud of the work done. At the beginning of 2025, with a little delay, we are pleased to share the latest result from Asteasier: last December, our partner BioMar released the results of the fish trials; an important moment, which represents the culmination of the work done in the last two years.

The objective of the experiment was to validate the Asteasier solution: the possibility of using the patented microalgal strains Synechococcus BC and Nannochloropsis gaditana S4 as natural sources of astaxanthin for Atlantic salmon, as an alternative to synthetic astaxanthin. The validation was based on the evaluation of the level of astaxanthin concentration in the salmon and the pigmentation of fish: it is in fact very important that salmons acquire the typical pink-orange color so that consumers perceive their freshness, taste and quality.

Diets with new Asteasier natural astaxanthin sources, in addition to one with synthetic pigment, were produced by extrusion at BioMar’s Feed Technology Centre in Brande, Denmark, while the feeding experiment was conducted at BioMar’s facility in Hirtshals, Denmark. The feeds were distributed in triplicate and fed for 85 days. Samples of fish were taken at the start and end of the trial. The pigment sources had no impact on mortality, feed utilization or growth – which was expected.

After six months of waiting, to the great satisfaction of the work team, the experiment demonstrated that fish fed with astaxanthin from the engineered Synechococcus BC microalgal strain obtained a pigmentation equal to fish fed synthetic pigment.

This important field validation attests the Synechococcus strain used by Asteasier as a promising natural alternative to synthetic astaxanthin; the result coincides with the end of the project and the entry onto the market of the Asteasier start-up.