CoQ10 is a vitamin-like compound that is produced naturally in the human body and is also found in most living organisms. It is also called ubiquinone, a combination of quinone, a type of coenzyme, and ubiquitous, meaning it exist everywhere in the human body. CoQ10 plays an important role in your body's energy production and is an essential component of the mitochondria, where it helps to metabolize fats and carbohydrates and maintain cell membrane flexibility. CoQ10 is also involved in the production of several key enzymes that are used to create ATP, which is burned by your body for energy, and used in the energy transfer between mitochondria and cells. Without CoQ10, you would not be able to function!
CoQ10 is also an effective antioxidant that may beneficially affect the aging process. As we age, our body's production of CoQ10 declines by as much as 80 percent. Because it is so important to energy production, and therefore life, researchers believe that this decline may be a factor in the effects of aging on the human body. Clinical trials on both animal and human subjects have revealed a marked decrease in CoQ10 levels in relation to a wide variety of diseases. As a free radical scavenger, CoQ10 inhibits lipid peroxidation - a normal aspect of the aging process that is implicated in certain age related diseases. Studies conducted in the last fifteen years suggest CoQ10 is important for maintaining healthy intracellular activity, and some researchers have compared its efficiency to that of vitamin E, one of the most effective of all dietary antioxidants. Research has shown that CoQ10, along with glutathione and selenium, works to regenerate or recycle vitamin E after it's capacity to fight radicals has been diminished, thereby allowing vitamin E to remain active as an antioxidant for a longer period of time in your body.
CoQ10 was first discovered by Dr. Frederick Crane of the University of Wisconsin in 1957. One year later, Professor Karl Folkers and others at Merck Inc. identified and recorded CoQ10's chemical structure, and were the first to produce it through fermentaion. Intermittent research led to it's use in Japan for cardiac insufficiencies during the late 1960's. Dr. Folkers championed more intensive research into CoQ10's role in cardiovascular health in 1972, after he and an Italian scientist, Gian Paolo Littarru, discovered that persons with cardiac innsufficiencies had very low levels of CoQ10, and supplementation increased CoQ10 levels and positively affected heart health. Soon afterwards, the Japanese developed a method that allowed pure CoQ10 to be produced in quantities large enough for significant clinical trials. During the 1980's this method was perfected in Japan, and medical technology finally allowed scientist to measure CoQ10 levels in blood and tissues, leading to a surge in future research. It was during this time that a sweedish researcher, Lars Ernster, drew attention to CoQ10's role as a free radical-scavenging antioxidant. Today a multitude of research supports CoQ10's health benefits.
As a result of the overwhelmingly positive reports from studies conducted since CoQ10's discovery, the Japanese were the first to approve widespread use of CoQ10, granting market approval for it in 1974. From 1974 to 1982, CoQ10 use in Japan grew rapidly until it was one of the most widely used products in the Japanese pharmaceutical industry. It is still widely used today, and has a long history of safe use. In "An Introduction to Conenzyme 10" by Peter H. Langsjoen, M.D., F.A.C.C., he list the substantial amount of scientific eveidence that supports CoQ10's benefits. "Internationally, there have been at least nine placebo controlled studies on the treatment of heart disease with CoQ10: two in Japan, two in the United States, two in Italy, two in Germany, and one in Sweden. All nine of these studies have confirmed the effectiveness of CoQ10 as well as it's remarkable safety. There have now been eight international symposia on the bio-medical and clinical aspects of CoQ10 (from 1976 through 1993). These eight symposia comprised over 3000 papers presented by approximately 200 different physicians and scientist from 18 countries."
"The majority of the clinical studies concerned the treatment of heart disease and were remarkably consistent in their conclusions: that treatment with CoQ10 significantly improved heart muscle function while producing no adverse effects or drug interactions."
There are many CoQ10 supplements on the market today, and it can be difficult to choose the best brand.
