A new study on marine carotenoids – nutritive properties of marine plants – shows that two carotenoids in particular, astaxanthin and fucoxanthin, have strong antioxidant properties, and possible anti-cancer effects. According to Marine Drugs:
"They are substances with very special and remarkable properties that no other groups of substances possess and that form the basis of their many, varied functions and actions in all kinds of living organisms. ... The potential role of these carotenoids as dietary anti-oxidants has been suggested to be one of the main mechanisms for their preventive effects against cancer and inflammatory diseases."