Astaxanthin is a light sensitive molecule which is already approved as a dietary supplement, with a wide range of biological properties in humans and fishes. In this paper, we provide strategies to photostabilize the pigment through its inclusion in easy-to-prepare and scale up formulations, comprising non-toxic excipients. Astaxanthin has been formulated in biocompatible hierarchically assembled structures in order to produce model food to humans and fishes. The structures present increasing complexity in the following order: 1) oily nanodroplets stabilized by phospholipids; 2) chitosan-coated nanoemulsions produced after coating the nanodroplets with chitosan; 3) carrageenan-coated nanoemulsions produced after coating chitosan-coated nanoemulsions with carrageenan; 4) calcium alginate and chitosan tripolyphosphate beads including one of the nanosystems. The sensitivity to UV light of astaxanthin in both the nanosystems and the hydrogels has been evaluated. The nanoformulations produce protection of astaxanthin from photodegradation in the order nanoemulsions > carrageenan-coated nanoemulsions > chitosan-coated nanoemulsions. Chitosan beads furnish higher protection to astaxanthin than alginate beads. In a preliminary assay in fishes, alginate beads of 2–3 mm and 160 μm containing the nutrient were supplied to adult Danio rerio and juvenile Eleginops maclovinus, respectively. Both living species showed high rates of capturing the hydrogels in the water column, corroborating the attractiveness of the formulations as food for fishes. Due to the easy preparation of the formulations (that exclude thermal treatment or the use of toxic solvents), and the flexibility of these hierarchically assembled materials to incorporate other active molecules (proteins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, oligoelements, oral vaccines, antibiotics, antiparasitic, etc.), we postulate these formulations as ideal platforms to create foods for humans and animal species.

虾青素是一种光敏分子，已被批准作为膳食补充剂，在人类和鱼类中具有广泛的生物学特性。在本文中，我们提供了通过将颜料包含在易于制备和按比例放大的配方（包括无毒赋形剂）中来使颜料光稳定的策略。虾青素已被配制成具有生物相容性的分层组装结构，以便为人类和鱼类生产模型食品。这些结构按以下顺序呈现出越来越高的复杂性：1）被磷脂稳定的油性纳米液滴；2）用壳聚糖涂覆纳米滴之后产生的壳聚糖涂覆的纳米乳剂；3）用角叉菜胶涂覆壳聚糖涂覆的纳米乳剂后产生的角叉菜胶涂覆的纳米乳剂；4）海藻酸钙和壳聚糖三聚磷酸盐微珠，包括一种纳米系统。已经评估了纳米系统和水凝胶中虾青素对紫外线的敏感性。纳米制剂产生虾青素免受光降解的保护，其顺序为纳米乳剂>角叉菜胶包被的纳米乳剂>壳聚糖包被的纳米乳剂。壳聚糖珠粒比藻酸盐珠粒对虾青素具有更高的保护作用。在鱼类的初步检测中，向成体提供了含有营养成分的2-3 mm和160μm藻酸盐珠 壳聚糖珠粒比藻酸盐珠粒对虾青素具有更高的保护作用。在鱼类的初步检测中，向成体提供了含有营养成分的2-3 mm和160μm藻酸盐珠 壳聚糖珠粒比藻酸盐珠粒对虾青素具有更高的保护作用。在鱼类的初步检测中，向成体提供了含有营养成分的2-3 mm和160μm藻酸盐珠Danio rerio和少年Eleginops maclovinus。两种生物都显示出在水柱中捕获水凝胶的高比率，从而证实了该制剂作为鱼类食品的吸引力。由于制剂易于制备（不包括热处理或使用有毒溶剂），并且这些分层组装的材料可灵活地掺入其他活性分子（蛋白质，多不饱和脂肪酸，寡元素，口服疫苗，抗生素，抗寄生虫药，等），我们将这些配方作为创建人类和动物食品的理想平台。