Coenzyme Q10, commonly referred to as CoQ10, is a substance in your body that helps you produce a major source of cellular energy called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. You naturally produce CoQ10 inside cells throughout your body. When you consume CoQ10 from supplemental sources, its distribution in your cells varies according to several different factors.
Basics
Your body makes its internal supply of CoQ10 by chemically transforming an amino acid called tyrosine. As its name implies, CoQ10 belongs to a class of substances called coenzymes, which your body uses to support the activity of larger structures called enzymes. You rely on enzymes to trigger, or catalyze, the chemical reactions that sustain life. In addition to its role as a coenzyme, CoQ10 functions as an antioxidant. Like other substances in this category, it helps protect your cells from damage related to the effects of waste particles called free radicals.
Natural Supplies
Your body's internal supply of CoQ10 forms naturally inside your cells in structures called mitochondria, which serve as energy generation centers. In its role as a coenzyme, CoQ10 supports the activity of at least three different mitochondrial enzymes, which in turn play critical roles in the formation of ATP. In addition to its role as an energy source, ATP helps your body perform a number of basic ongoing tasks, including production of various proteins and contraction of the fibers in your muscle tissue.
Supplement Absorption
When you consume C0Q10 from supplemental sources, it gets broken down, or metabolized, in your digestive system and passed into your bloodstream. What happens to CoQ10 after that point depends on the amount of the coenzyme you already have in your body, according to Oregon State University's Linus Pauling Institute. If you have a sufficient amount of CoQ10 in your cells, it appears that your tissues will not absorb more of it from your bloodstream. If you have any condition that triggers a CoQ10 deficiency, however, the cells in your tissues will pull what they need from your bloodstream in order to replenish their supplies.
Considerations
Probably less than 10 percent of the CoQ10 in supplements gets absorbed into your bloodstream, the Linus Pauling Institute reports. Absorption levels decrease when consumption levels rise. Scientists don't know how much of the CoQ10 in your diet enters your tissues. Because of this and the varying use of supplemental CoQ10 in your cells, there are no government recommendations for levels of daily intake. Dietary sources of CoQ10 include fish, poultry, beef, peanuts, broccoli and soybean and canola oils. While deficiencies rarely occur, conditions that can trigger reduced CoQ10 levels in your body include high cholesterol levels and heart failure. Consult your doctor for more information on appropriate use of CoQ10.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Coenzyme Q10
- Linus Pauling Institute; Coenzyme Q10; Jane Higdon, Ph.D.; February 2003
- University of Washington; Introduction to Coenzyme Q10; Peter H. Langsjoen, M.D., F.A.C.C.; 1994
- Biology in Motion; Cellular Metabolism; Enzyme Characteristics; Leif Saul; 2002
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