Determination of Coenzyme Q10 Content in Food By-Products and Waste by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Diode Array Detection

Abstract

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a vitamin-like compound found naturally in plant- and animal-derived materials. This study aimed to determine the level of CoQ10 in some food by-products (oil press cakes) and waste (fish meat and chicken hearts) to recover this compound for further use as a dietary supplement. The analytical method involved ultrasonic extraction using 2-propanol, followed by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). The HPLC-DAD method was validated in terms of linearity and measuring range, limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ), trueness, and precision. As a result, the calibration curve of CoQ10 was linear over the concentration range of 1–200 µg/mL, with an LOD of 22 µg/mL and an LOQ of 0.65 µg/mL. The CoQ10 content varied from not detected in the hempseed press cake and the fish meat to 84.80 µg/g in the pumpkin press cake and 383.25 µg/g in the lyophilized chicken hearts; very good recovery rates and relative standard deviations (RSDs) were obtained for the pumpkin press cake (100.9–116.0% with RSDs between 0.05–0.2%) and the chicken hearts (99.3–106.9% CH with RSDs between 0.5–0.7%), showing the analytical method’s trueness and precision and thus its accuracy. In conclusion, a simple and reliable method for determining CoQ10 levels has been developed here.

Rapid HPLC method reveals dynamic shifts in coenzyme Q redox state

“…2 A ). While the use of n -propanol for CoQ extraction from food samples has been reported previously, the method involved drying and resuspension steps prior to HPLC analysis ( 16 ). In our method, conversion of CoQ 10 H 2 to CoQ 10 with p -benzoquinone ( Fig.…”

“…HPLC-based separation coupled to UV ( 14 , 15 , 16 ) or electrochemical ( 17 , 18 ) detection is said to be the “gold standard” for analysis of total ubiquinone levels and its redox status, respectively ( 19 ). More recently, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry-based methods have been developed, which allow simultaneous monitoring of the reduced and oxidized cofactor pools ( 20 , 21 ).…”

Fats Extracted from Oil Press Cakes, Fish Meat, and Chicken Hearts as Potential CoQ10 Supplements

“…The meat and sh sectors also produce much solid waste; their primary products, listed among the potential CoQ10 sources, have a short shelf-life when kept refrigerated [13,14]. Hence, in a previous study [15], we investigated the level of this compound in some food by-products (oil press cakes) and waste ( sh meat and chicken hearts) to determine if they indeed are a considerable source of CoQ10. The CoQ10 content ranged from 36.56 to 84.80 µg/g in oil press cakes; it was between 114.39 and 383.25 µg/g in chicken hearts (raw and lyophilised, respectively) and not detected in sh meat and hempseed press cakes.…”

“…There are several methods of extracting lipids from food matrices, such as the Folch method, the Bligh and Dyer method, Soxhlet extraction, or supercritical CO 2 extraction [19]. The Folch method using a 2:1 (v/v) mixture of chloroform and methanol was chosen for this characterisation study because of its analytical performance; even though chloroform is not a food-grade solvent, an anhydrous fat is obtained [20], while the extraction yield is good [19], moreover, being a cold extraction procedure, it not destroy the CoQ10, which is thermolabile [15]. To allow nonpolar solvents (like methanol) to enter the cell cytoplasm, where lipid disintegration occurs, polar solvents (such as chloroform) must rst make the cell membrane permeable; therefore, the cosolvent-a combination of polar and nonpolar solvents-is preferable for lipid extraction [21].…”