Bioavailability: How “bio-available” is your Q10?

Okay, first off, let’s define “bioavailability.”  Let’s agree that bioavailability tells us how much of a drug or substance is actually absorbed in the small intestine and gets from there into the blood and then into the tissues.  In other words, bioavailability gives us some indication of how much of the substance that we have paid good money for is absorbed and is available to have a beneficial effect in our bodies.

Q10 difficult to absorb
Q10 is just not an easy substance to absorb. It has a high molecular weight. It is lipophilic. It is very difficult to dissolve Q10 in water. Over the years, it has been necessary to make many attempts to enhance the bioavailability of Q10 preparations.

Examples of the various approaches that have been tried include the following techniques:

• size reduction
• solid dispersion
• ionization
• the use of liposomes and nanoparticles and nano-emulsions and other emulsifying systems as Q10 carriers

Q10 powders and hydro-solutions
Basically, red flags should go up whenever we see a Q10 product that is in the form of a powder.  And, frankly, we should be skeptical about the bioavailability of hydro-soluble Q10 products. There may be a hydro-soluble product that will work, but, first, before I buy, let’s see some documentation of the bioavailability.

Documented Q10 effect
Speaking of documentation, what do we know? We know that the Q10 preparation that achieved the statistically significantThe outcome of a clinical trial is thought to have statistical significance, or to be statistically significant, if the outcome is likely not caused by chance at a given statistical significance level, typically at the 0.05 level. Statistically significant outcomes may or may not be clinically significant. More results in the international Q-Symbio chronic heart failureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately.  In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More clinical trialClinical trials are research studies in which various treatments, interventions, or tests are investigated for their safety and efficacy when used to detect, prevent, or treat diseases and medical conditions in patients and healthy volunteers. The gold standard for clinical trials are randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. More (1) and the Q10 preparation that was used with healthy elderly people in the KiSel10 study (2) in central Sweden were the same Q10 preparation.

That preparation was a preparation in which the Q10 had been given a special heat pretreatment and then dissolved in vegetable oil. The patented formulation ensures that the raw Q10 crystals are dissolved into single molecules for absorption, at body temperature, in the small intestine.

Demonstrated Q10 efficacy in clinical trials
The reason that we can feel confident that this patented Q10 preparation is going to be absorbed to a high degree is because, in randomized placebo-controlled double-blindA double-blind study is a study in which neither the investigators nor the study participants know which participants are receiving the active treatment and which participants are receiving the control treatment until the study has been completed and the seal on the code has been broken. More studies, it has achieved results that ARE statistically significantly superior to the outcomes in the placebo group.

Those results would not be there if the Q10 could not be well absorbed and bio-available in the heart muscle tissue.

Q10 Bio-availability of 83%
Researchers at the Department of Pharmaceutics at the Jamia Hamdard University in New Delhi, India, report in table 2 of their 2010 review of the patented formulations of Q10 that the preparation used in the Q-Symbio clinical trialClinical trials are research studies in which various treatments, interventions, or tests are investigated for their safety and efficacy when used to detect, prevent, or treat diseases and medical conditions in patients and healthy volunteers. The gold standard for clinical trials are randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. More and in the KiSel-10 clinical trialClinical trials are research studies in which various treatments, interventions, or tests are investigated for their safety and efficacy when used to detect, prevent, or treat diseases and medical conditions in patients and healthy volunteers. The gold standard for clinical trials are randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. More has a bio-availability of 83 percent (3).

In addition, in 2005, Singh and a team of researchers reported on the results of a randomized placebo-controlled double-blindA double-blind study is a study in which neither the investigators nor the study participants know which participants are receiving the active treatment and which participants are receiving the control treatment until the study has been completed and the seal on the code has been broken. More clinical trialClinical trials are research studies in which various treatments, interventions, or tests are investigated for their safety and efficacy when used to detect, prevent, or treat diseases and medical conditions in patients and healthy volunteers. The gold standard for clinical trials are randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. More involving 60 healthy men, aged 18-55 years, who received three different administrations of Q10 soft oil capsules or placebo (4).  In the clinical trialClinical trials are research studies in which various treatments, interventions, or tests are investigated for their safety and efficacy when used to detect, prevent, or treat diseases and medical conditions in patients and healthy volunteers. The gold standard for clinical trials are randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. More, blood samples were taken at baseline and again after 20 days of the trial.

Different dosages = different uptakes
Compared to the placebo group, the three different Q10 intervention groups showed increases in serum Q10 levels of three to 10 times the levels in the placebo group.

Of the three interventions, the split intervention using 100 mg of Q10 at breakfast and another 100 mg of Q10 again at dinner boosted the serum Q10 levels the most.

Then, administering two 100 mg Q10 dosages at one time during the day did produce a higher serum Q10 level than a single 100 mg Q10 dosage per day did, but the morning and evening dosage regime was clearly the most efficient dosage.

Similarly, in a two-month-long randomized placebo-controlled double-blindA double-blind study is a study in which neither the investigators nor the study participants know which participants are receiving the active treatment and which participants are receiving the control treatment until the study has been completed and the seal on the code has been broken. More trial enrolling 99 healthy male volunteers in 2003, researchers found that an intervention with 30 mg or 100 mg of same formulation led to median increases in serum Q10 concentrations of 0.55 mg/l and 1.36 mg/l, respectively, which could be compared with a median decrease of 0.23 mg/l in serum Q10 in the placebo group (5).

The improvement in serum Q10 in the intervention groups was statistically significantThe outcome of a clinical trial is thought to have statistical significance, or to be statistically significant, if the outcome is likely not caused by chance at a given statistical significance level, typically at the 0.05 level. Statistically significant outcomes may or may not be clinically significant. More; moreover, the increase in the 100 mg intervention group was significantly greater than the improvement in the 30 mg intervention group.

Interestingly, the increases in serum Q10 concentration in the Q10 intervention groups were not dependent upon baseline serum Q10 values, participant age, or participant body weight. The increases had to have come from the absorption of the Q10 in the patented formulation.
Sources:

1. Mortensen SA et al. The Effect of Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More on Morbidity and Mortality in Chronic Heart FailureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately.  In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More: Results From Q-SYMBIO: A Randomized Double-BlindA double-blind study is a study in which neither the investigators nor the study participants know which participants are receiving the active treatment and which participants are receiving the control treatment until the study has been completed and the seal on the code has been broken. More Trial. Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Heart FailureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately.  In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More. 2014;():. doi:10.1016/j.jchf.2014.06.008.
2. Alehagen, U., et al. (2013). Cardiovascular mortality and N-terminal-proBNP reduced after combined seleniumSelenium (symbol Se, atomic number 34) is a trace element that is an essential nutrient and an essential component of some of the most important antioxidants in the body, in particular the selenoproteins glutathione peroxidase, thioredoxin reductase, and selenoprotein P. Selenium is involved in the optimal functioning of the immune system. Professor Alehagen has pointed out that there exists a... More and coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More supplementation: a 5-year prospective randomized double-blindA double-blind study is a study in which neither the investigators nor the study participants know which participants are receiving the active treatment and which participants are receiving the control treatment until the study has been completed and the seal on the code has been broken. More placebo-controlled trial among elderly Swedish citizens. International Journal of Cardiology, 167(5), 1860-1866.
3. Beg, S. et al. Bioavailability Enhancement of Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More: An Extensive Review of Patents. Recent Patents on Drug Delivery & Formulation, 2010, 4, 245-257.
4. Singh R. et al. Effect on Absorption and Oxidative Stress of Different Oral Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More Dosages and Intake Strategy in Healthy Men. Biofactors (Oxford, England). 2005;25(1-4):219-224.
5. Zita C, Overvad K, Mortensen S, Sindberg C, Moesgaard S, Hunter D. Serum coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More concentrations in healthy men supplemented with 30 mg or 100 mg coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More for two months in a randomised controlled study. Biofactors (Oxford, England). 2003;18(1-4):185-193.