Effect of dietary coenzyme Q10 as an antioxidant in human plasma

A human study including 22 volunteers was conducted to investigate the antioxidative effect in blood of dietary coenzyme Q10 supplementation. The levels of alpha-tocopherol, ascorbic acid, lipid peroxidation (measured as TBARS) and the redox status of CoQ10 (reduced CoQ10/total CoQ10) were measured in plasma as markers for the antioxidative status once a week during the study period. To introduce an increased oxidative stress, a fish oil supplementation was given. The levels of alpha-tocopherol and ascorbic acid and the redox status did not change upon CoQ10 supplementation, while the level of TBARS decreased. The decrease in TBARS might be ascribed to an antioxidative effect of the supplied CoQ10. The constant redox level of CoQ10 during the CoQ10 supplementation shows that the exogenous CoQ10 is reduced during absorption and subsequent incorporation into lipoproteins, which is a prerequisite for its antioxidative function. The fish oil supplementation resulted in a higher TBARS level and a lower alpha-tocopherol level, but the redox level of CoQ10 was unchanged. In conclusion, the CoQ10 supplementation resulted in a higher plasma level of reduced CoQ10 and a lower TBARS level, but sparing of other plasma antioxidants (i.e. ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol) was not observed.