coenzyme Q

Foods Richest in coenzyme Q

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About coenzyme Q

What can high-coenzyme Q foods do for you?

What events and lifestyle factors can indicate a need for more high-coenzyme Q foods?

Sources of coenzyme Q include: fish, organ meats (like liver, heart, or kidney), and the germ portion of whole grains.

For serving size for specific foods see the Nutrient Rating Chart.

Description

What is coenzyme q?

Coenzyme Q is central to cellular energy metabolism, particularly in the heart and blood vessels. Its chemical structure was elucidated in 1957, and nearly 5,000 research studies on the compound have been published since.

In many living creatures, the same chemical pathways that make vitamin E, vitamin K, and folic acid also make coenzyme Q. While the human body cannot make these other vitamins, it appears that it can make coenzyme Q (using metabolic pathways called the skikimate and chorismate pathways).

Coenzyme Q is also called ubiquinone, and is often designated as coenzyme Q10. This number “10” following its name refers to a specific part of its chemical structure (called its isoprene tail).

How it functions

What is the function of coenzyme q?

Energy production

Coenzyme Q is an essential electron carrier in the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Mitochondria convert fats and carbohydrates into ATP, the cell’s primary energy currency, and this process requires coenzyme Q at multiple steps. Cardiac muscle cells, which consume more ATP than almost any other cell type, are particularly dependent on adequate coenzyme Q levels.

Cell protection

Coenzyme Q in its reduced form (ubiquinol) acts as a lipid-soluble antioxidant in cell membranes. The precise mechanism of protection is not fully characterized, though supplementation studies have demonstrated up to 95% reduction in markers of membrane damage.

The antioxidant protection that can be supplied by coenzyme Q has prompted clinicians to use this nutrient in a wide variety of heart-related conditions in which the heart muscle needs special protection from oxygen damage. These conditions include arrhythmia, angina, heart attack, mitral valve prolapse, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis, and congestive heart failure.

Deficiency symptoms

What are deficiency symptoms for coenzyme q?

Deficiency symptoms for coenzyme Q are not well-studied. However, deficiency of this nutrient has been clearly associated with a variety of heart problems including arrhythmia, angina, and high blood pressure. Problems in regulating blood sugar have also been linked to coenzyme Q deficiency, as have problems with the gingiva(the medical term for the gum), and stomach ulcers.

Toxicity symptoms

What are toxicity symptoms for coenzyme q?

Like deficiency symptoms, toxicity symptoms for coenzyme Q are inadequately researched. In a study of 5,143 patients taking 30 milligrams of coenzyme Q per day, less than 1% of all patients complained of stomach discomfort, nausea, diarrhea, or appetite problems as a result of the supplementation.

Some textbooks list 800-1,000 milligrams per day as the possible starting point for toxicity, but this starting point has yet to be carefully tested in clinical studies. From food sources alone, it would be impossible to obtain these hundred-milligram level doses.

Impact of cooking, storage and processing

How do cooking, storage or processing affect coenzyme q?

There is no research available about the impact of cooking, storage or processing on this nutrient.

Factors that affect function

What factors might contribute to a deficiency of coenzyme q?

Several cardiovascular conditions increase risk of coenzyme Q deficiency. These problems include arrhythmia, angina, heart attack, mitral valve prolapse, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis, and congestive heart failure. Problems with the gums (gingiva) and stomach ulcers can also signal deficiency of this nutrient.

Nutrient interactions

How do other nutrients interact with coenzyme q?

Coenzyme Q regenerates oxidized vitamin E (alpha-tocopheroxyl radical) back to its active reduced form (alpha-tocopherol), restoring its capacity to protect cell membranes from lipid peroxidation.

Health conditions

What health conditions require special emphasis on coenzyme q?

Coenzyme Q has been studied in connection with the following health conditions:

Food sources

What foods provide coenzyme q?

Food concentrations of coenzyme Q are not well documented. In general, however, coenzyme Q is available from three basic types of foods: (1) fish; (2) organ meats, including liver, kidney and heart; and (3) the germs of whole grains.

The most concentrated sources of coenzyme Q, such as heart or kidney, contain about 2-3 milligrams per ounce. The germs of grains, while containing less coenzyme Q per ounce, also contain vitamin E in amounts of 5-10 IU per ounce, and this vitamin E works together with coenzyme Q in the body.

Nutrient rating chart

Food Source Analysis not Available for this Nutrient

Public health recommendations

What are current public health recommendations for coenzyme q?

There are currently no public health recommendations for coenzyme Q.

What events and lifestyle factors can indicate a need for more high-coenzyme Q foods?

Sources of coenzyme Q include: fish, organ meats (like liver, heart, or kidney), and the germ portion of whole grains.

For serving size for specific foods, see Nutrient Rating Chart below at the bottom of this page.

References

  1. Folkers K, Simonsen R. Two successful double-blind trials with coenzyme Q10 (vitamin Q10) on muscular dystrophies and Neurogenic atrophies. Biochimica Biophysica Acta 1995;1271:281-286. 1995. https://doi.org/10.1016/0925-4439(95)00040-b
  2. Folkers K. (Ed). Biomedical and clinical aspects of coenzyme Q. Volume 3. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1981. 1981. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226713533.001.0001
  3. Groff JL, Gropper SS, Hunt SM. Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism. West Publishing Company, New York, 1995. 1995.
  4. Levin B. Coenzyme Q: a clinical monograph. Quarterly Rev Nat Med Fall 1994;235-249. 1994.
  5. McGuire JJ, Kagan V, Ackrell BAC, et al. Succinate-ubiquinone reductase linked recycling of alpha-tocopherol in reconstituted systems and mitochondria: requirement for reduced ubiquinol. Arch Biochem Biophys 1992;292:47-53. 1992. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2020.00848
  6. Mellors A, Tappel AL. Quinones and quinols as inhibitors of lipid peroxidation. Lipids 1966;1:282-284. 1966. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02531617
  7. Tanaka J, Tominaga R, Yoshitoshi M, et al. Coenzyme Q10: the prophylactic effect on low cardiac output following cardiac valve replacement. Ann Thorac Surg 1982;33:145-151. 1982. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0003-4975(10)61900-5
  8. Turunen M, Wehlin L, Sjoberg M et al. beta2-Integrin and lipid modifications indicate a non-antioxidant mechanism for the anti-atherogenic effect of dietary coenzyme Q10. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2002 Aug 16;296(2):255-60. 2002.
  9. Yammamura Y. A survey of the therapeutic uses of coenzyme Q. In: Lenaz G (Ed). Coenzyme Q. Wiley and Sons, New York, 1985. 1985.