Tier 3 — preclinical

Bioavailability of four oral coenzyme Q10 formulations in healthy volunteers

M Weis, S A Mortensen, M R Rassing, J Møller-Sonnergaard, G Poulsen, S N Rasmussen
Molecular Aspects of Medicine 1994 15 Suppl:S273-S280

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 7752839
DOI
10.1016/0098-2997(94)90038-8
Funding
No specific funding statement was identified in the accessible publication record.
Competing interests
No specific competing-interest statement was identified in the accessible publication record.

Study snapshot

DesignRandomized four-way crossover pharmacokinetic trial.
ModelHealthy volunteers.
Sample10 healthy volunteers.
InterventionFour 100 mg CoQ10 formulations: hard-gelatin powder with Emcompress; Bioquinon softgel with 400 mg soybean oil; softgel with polysorbate 80 + lecithin + soybean oil; and softgel with polysorbate 80 + soybean oil.
DurationSingle-dose crossover pharmacokinetic comparisons with serial plasma sampling; washout details were not fully available in the accessible abstract.
EndpointsPlasma CoQ10 concentration-time profile; Area under the concentration-time curve (AUC); Relative bioavailability; Sex differences in baseline and post-dose exposure

What the study showed, in plain terms

This small but influential crossover study gave the same 10 healthy volunteers four different formulations, each containing 100 mg of CoQ10. Because the nominal dose was held constant, differences in blood exposure could be attributed to formulation rather than milligrams alone.

The soybean-oil suspension softgel (Bioquinon) produced the highest bioavailability among the four tested formulations. Other powder/oil/polysorbate/lecithin preparations produced materially different concentration-time curves and exposure despite delivering the same labeled amount.

The study also reported the characteristic two-peak plasma profile often seen after oral CoQ10 and noted sex differences in baseline and post-dose AUC. The lasting lesson is formulation-specific: 100 mg of one CoQ10 preparation is not pharmacokinetically equivalent to 100 mg of another.

Key findings

  • All four interventions delivered the same nominal 100 mg CoQ10 dose but generated different plasma exposure.
  • The soybean-oil Bioquinon softgel had the highest relative bioavailability among the tested formulations.
  • The concentration-time curves showed a two-peak pattern after oral dosing.
  • Sex differences were observed in baseline and post-dose CoQ10 AUC in this very small sample.
  • Formulation vehicle is therefore an independent determinant of exposure; milligram dose alone is insufficient for product comparison.

What this study can and cannot tell us

  • Only 10 volunteers, so formulation rankings are imprecise and sex-subgroup observations are especially unstable.
  • The formulations are several decades old and should not be used to rank modern products directly.
  • Pharmacokinetic exposure is not a clinical outcome; higher AUC does not by itself prove superior efficacy.
  • Funding and modern-style conflict disclosures were not identified in the accessible record.

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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