Coenzyme Q10: Absorption, tissue uptake, metabolism and pharmacokinetics

Abstract

Available data on the absorption, metabolism and pharmacokinetics of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) are reviewed in this paper. CoQ10 has a fundamental role in cellular bioenergetics. CoQ10 is also an important antioxidant. Because of its hydrophobicity and large molecular weight, absorption of dietary CoQ10 is slow and limited. In the case of dietary supplements, solubilized CoQ10 formulations show enhanced bioavailability. The T(max) is around 6 h, with an elimination half-life of about 33 h. The reference intervals for plasma CoQ10 range from 0.40 to 1.91 micromol/l in healthy adults. With CoQ10 supplements there is reasonable correlation between increase in plasma CoQ10 and ingested dose up to a certain point. Animal data show that CoQ10 in large doses is taken up by all tissues including heart and brain mitochondria. This has implications for therapeutic applications in human diseases, and there is evidence for its beneficial effect in cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. CoQ10 has an excellent safety record.

Coenzyme Q10 supplementation lowers hepatic oxidative stress and inflammation associated with diet-induced obesity in mice

“…Furthermore it is also a cofactor of mitochondrial uncoupling proteins, which activation leads to a reduction of mitochondrial-free radical generation [50,51]. In our study, beside a described low tissue uptake [26,27], we found a 40 times increase of CoQ10 level in the liver tissue.…”

“…However, the effect of CoQ10 given orally remains only poorly explored in the context of obesity and diabetes. Among the tissues targeted through oral administration of CoQ10, the liver could be the most relevant since this tissue collects it with quite efficacy, and is thus considered as one of the storage pool of CoQ10 [26,27].…”

Dietary Essentiality I: Coenzyme Q10 Conditionally Essential-Review

“…Ubiquinone (oxidized state) is reduced to ubiquinol (reduced state) either during or following absorption in the intestine and with about 95% of circulating CoQ10 exists in ubiquinol form (Bhagavan and Chopra, 2006). So their activity is not affected which form (reduced or oxidized) it is consumed.…”

“…Due to its lipophilic nature and higher molecular weight (863 Da), the oral bioavailability of CoQ10 is low (Krizman et al, 2012). Following absorption, it is taken up by the liver for incorporation into Very Low Density Lipoprotein (VLDL) particles before released into circulation (Bhagavan and Chopra, 2006). Kaikkonen et al (1997) reported an elevated Q10 content in VLDL and Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) fraction by 160% following dietary supply.…”

“…The CoQ10 is similar to vitamin K in its chemical structure but it is not considered a vitamin because it is synthesized in the body (Bhagavan and Chopra, 2006;Wang et al, 2015). All the fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) possess isoprene units in their structures.…”