Tier 3 — preclinical

Bioavailability of coenzyme Q10 supplements depends on carrier lipids and solubilization

Guillermo López-Lluch, Jesús Del Pozo-Cruz, Ana Sánchez-Cuesta, Ana Belén Cortés-Rodríguez, Plácido Navas
Nutrition 2019 57:133-140

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 30153575
DOI
10.1016/j.nut.2018.05.020
Funding
Pharma Nord supported the work and supplied the tested CoQ10 formulations; the research group also reported public grant support from the Andalusian Government (BIO177).
Competing interests
The publication reports that the authors received funding and study compounds from Pharma Nord. This industry relationship is relevant when interpreting the formulation comparison.

Study snapshot

DesignDouble-blind crossover bioavailability study
ModelYoung healthy adults
Sample14
InterventionSeven different CoQ10 formulations, each providing a nominal 100 mg dose, tested within the same participants
DurationSingle-dose 48-hour pharmacokinetic assessment for each formulation with washout periods between test occasions
Endpoints48-hour plasma CoQ10 AUC; Comparative bioavailability; Carrier-lipid and solubilization effects; Inter-individual absorption variability

What the study showed, in plain terms

Fourteen healthy adults received seven different CoQ10 products, each labeled to provide 100 mg, in a double-blind crossover design. Plasma CoQ10 exposure differed substantially despite the identical nominal dose.

The two strongest performers were not simply two products from one redox category: one was a ubiquinone softgel and one was a ubiquinol formulation. Carrier lipids, solubilization and other formulation characteristics materially affected absorption.

The study is strong evidence against treating the words 'ubiquinone' and 'ubiquinol' as complete proxies for bioavailability. Finished-product formulation matters.

Key findings

The seven 100 mg CoQ10 formulations produced significantly different 48-hour plasma exposure.

One ubiquinone softgel and one ubiquinol product were the two best-performing formulations, demonstrating that chemical redox form alone did not determine absorption.

Carrier lipids, solubilization and other excipient or formulation features were associated with the observed bioavailability differences.

What this study can and cannot tell us

The study included only 14 young healthy adults and assessed single-dose pharmacokinetics rather than long-term clinical outcomes.

Results apply to the exact commercial formulations tested and cannot be converted into a universal ranking of all products sharing the same redox form.

Pharma Nord supported the research and supplied formulations, which should be considered when interpreting a commercial-formulation comparison.

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Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology