Another study touting CoQ10’s benefits for heart health

The majority of research looking at the benefits of CoQ10 for health has focused on the cardiovascular diseases. The heart tissue contains the highest concentration of CoQ10 in the human body (about 132 nanomoles per gram), and there is evidence, said the researchers of the new study, that plasma CoQ10 levels decrease in patients with advanced chronic heart failure (CHF).

According to the Study on Heart failure Awareness and Perception in Europe (SHAPE), to test if supplementation of the coenzyme could improve cardiocirculatory efficiency and endothelial function in patients with CHF, Romualdo Belardinelli from the Lancisi Heart Institute, Italy and her colleagues recruited 23 patients (20 men, average age 59) with stable CHF for a double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over study.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of four four-week intervention groups: oral supplements of CoQ10 (100 mg three times per day); CoQ10 plus supervised exercise training (ET) five times a week; placebo; or placebo plus ET.

The results, published on-line ahead of print in the European Heart Journal, show that the heart’s functional capacity improved significantly by nine per cent, as measured by the peak volume of oxygen consumed (VO2), for the CoQ10 compared to placebo. Similar results were observed for the CoQ10 plus exercise groups.

Blood flow also increased, as measured by endothelium-dependent dilation of the brachial artery (EDDBA) by 38 per cent after CoQ10 supplementation.

Supplementation with CoQ10 tripled plasma CoQ10 levels, and CoQ10 plus exercise further increased levels.

The coenzyme is concentrated in the mitochondria - the 'power plants' of the cell - and plays a vital role in the production of chemical energy by participating in the production of adenosince triphosphate (ATP), the body's co-called 'energy currency'.

A role beyond the mitochondria is also acknowledged, with CoQ10 acting as a potent antioxidant, and it is this role that is proposed to be behind the benefits observed in this study, by reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, which results in increased levels of nitric oxide and widening of the blood vessels (vasodilation).