Improve Your Health With Coenzyme Q10

CoQ10 was first isolated from beef heart mitochondria by Dr. Frederick Crane of Wisconsin, U.S.A., in 1957. The same year, Professor Morton of England defined a compound obtained from vitamin A deficient rat liver to be the same as CoQ10. Professor Morton introduced the name ubiquinone, meaning the ubiquitous quinone. In 1958, Professor Karl Folkers and coworkers at Merck, Inc., determined the precise chemical structure of CoQ10: 2,3 dimethoxy-5 methyl-6 decaprenyl benzoquinone, synthesized it, and were the first to produce it by fermentation. In the mid-1960′s, Professor Yamamura of Japan became the first in the world to use coenzyme Q7 (a related compound) in the treatment of human disease: congestive heart failure.

In 1966, Mellors and Tappel showed that reduced CoQ10 was an effective antioxidant. In 1972 Gian Paolo Littarru of Italy along with Professor Karl Folkers documented a deficiency of CoQ10 in human heart disease. By the mid-1970′s, the Japanese perfected the industrial technology to produce pure CoQ10 in quantities sufficient for larger clinical trials. Peter Mitchell received the Nobel Prize in 1978 for his contribution to the understanding of biological energy transfer through the formulation of the chemiosmotic theory, which includes the vital protonmotive role of CoQ10 in energy transfer systems.

Ubiquinone, or coenzyme Q (CoQ), was discovered in 1957 by Fred Crane. Its chemical structure was determined a few years later by Karl Folkers, who later won the Priestley medal from the American Chemical Society. CoQ plays an important role in the production of chemical energy in the mitochondria. In its reduced form, ubiquinol, CoQ also serves as an antioxidant. Ubiquinol inhibits lipid peroxidation in biological membranes and in low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and it also protects membrane proteins against oxidative damage. While ubiquinol does not require vitamin E for its antioxidant activity, it can regenerate the vitamin from its oxidized form, the alpha-tocopheroxyl radical, a process that otherwise relies on water-soluble vitamin C. This interaction with vitamin E is thought to be particularly important for the protection of LDL and other lipoproteins from oxidative damage, and we now have evidence that directly supports an antioxidant function of ubiquinol against LDL oxidation in blood vessels. On the other hand, the discovery of the semiquinone form of CoQ in the mitochondria raises the question of a possible role of the ubisemiquinone radical in the generation of superoxide radicals in the course of respiration. However, to date there is no convincing evidence that CoQ acts as a pro-oxidant in vivo.

CoQ10 is the only lipid-soluble antioxidant that is synthesized in our bodies. In humans ubiquinone-10 (CoQ10, containing 10 isoprenoid units) is the major form, whereas rats and mice predominantly make CoQ9. CoQ is present in all cellular membranes and in lipoproteins. Levels of CoQ10 in plasma are substantially less than those of vitamins E and C and vary greatly in tissues, where the concentrations of CoQ exceed those of vitamin E. Although the relative tissue distribution of CoQ varies by species, the highest concentrations are found in liver, heart, muscle, kidney, and brain. At the sub-cellular level, CoQ is found mainly in Golgi vesicles, which control protein traffic, the inner mitochondrial membrane, and lysosomes, where macromolecules are digested.

CoQ10 is essential to human life. CoQ10 can be both manufactured by the body as well as supplemented in the diet from the foods we eat. Supplemental CoQ10 is available at your local or internet health food store. Look for name brands to ensure quality and purity of the product you purchase.

*Statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Coenzyme Q10 is not intended to diagnose, treat and heal or prevent disease. Always confer with your professional wellness care provider before changing any medication or adding Vitamins to medicines.

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