| | Coenzyme Q10: A Miracle Vitamin | |
Coenzyme Q should be called vitamin Q because the amount
that the body can make is insufficient for the best of health
and extra amounts of Q must be obtained from food. That makes
CoQ fit the definition of vitamin: a natural, organic substance
in food that is required for health and survival. However the
abbreviation, CoQ, has caught on and since it is concise it will
continue in use.
CoQ was discovered in 1957 by Dr. Frederick Crane at University
of Wisconsin and methods of synthesis were soon developed by Dr.
Karl Folkers, then a chief researcher at Merck & Co. However Merck
chose not to undertake commercial production and Dr. Folkers eventually
became a consultant to pharmaceutical companies in Japan where
his research in diseases of muscle, such as muscular dystrophy
and heart failure, earned him the Priestley medal of the American
Chemical Society in 1986. However, despite hundreds of research
reports on CoQ, American physicians still resist the idea that
a natural vitamin can be as powerful as a pharmacological drug.
One of my patients was given the very best of conventional care
for congestive heart failure at a university hospital. After 16
years of Sarcoid lung disease he had developed severe fibrosis,
which caused increased resistance to blood flow in the lungs.
This increased the load on the right ventricle of his heart, which
eventually became depleted and weakened so that edema fluid backed
up in his abdomen, liver and lower extremities. His legs were
hugely swollen from the toes to the hips. Diuretics, digitalis
and prednisone failed and a heart transplant was considered but
ruled out due to his weakened condition. He was literally sent
home to die!
However once at home he could be treated with megadoses of Coenzyme
Q. A miracle! In ten days he lost over 20 pounds, about 10 quarts
of fluid, the edema cleared and he was able to walk and breathe
comfortably for the first time in months. Not cured entirely,
of course, but well enough so that six months later he was still
out of his wheel chair and able to climb the stairs to the Opera
House balcony, resulting in a medical emergency when he fainted
due to the acute load on his heart. He felt so well he pushed
himself too far. This was the case that made a believer out of
this doctor!
CoQ has a chemical name, Ubiquinone, which derives from the fact
that it is ubiquitous, found in almost all plant and animal cells
that use oxygen to power their chemistry. Ubiquinone is a co-enzyme,
a substance that teams up with an otherwise inactive enzyme complex
to make it complete--and active. The energy of oxidation in cells
depends on CoQ in partnership with niacinamide (vitamin B3), riboflavin
(vitamin B2), and minerals such as iron and copper to effect the
movement of electrons and hydrogen protons in the power plant
of cell, the mitochondrion.
Mitochondria are the specialized microscopic cell bodies that
oxidize the carbohydrates and fats from food, separate off the
negatively charged electrons and pump out the positively charged
hydrogen protons to create a miniature battery in each cell of
the body. This mechanism is literally the life force. CoQ acts
as a transporter to safely carry these electrical charges from
the inner membrane of the mitochondrion to the matrix where the
electrons participate in the manufacture of ATP, thus converting
electrical to chemical energy.
Because CoQ can donate protons, it serves as an antioxidant to
prevent a leak of electrons that could oxidize and damage the
cell membranes. This is all to the good unless under highly oxidative
conditions, such as physical or mental stress or infection, it
can be depleted. It is ironic that starvation, which lowers metabolic
activity and reduces the production of peroxides and free radicals,
spares CoQ which is then more available for energy. On the other
hand, over-eating, especially fried foods and salad oils (except
olive oil) presents the tissues with toxic free radicals, electronically
unbalanced by-products that damage cell membranes and use up CoQ.
A low calorie, low fat diet promotes higher CoQ levels and a sense
of energy and well-being thereby. Or one might use supplements
of CoQ as an antidote to the dietary and lifestyle hazards that
cause CoQ deficiency to be so common. In addition vitamin E protects
against depletion of CoQ by fatty acid peroxidation. By increasing
tissue levels of CoQ there is a boost in mental and physical energy
and a decreased requirement for sleep, a pleasant surprise for
many who try supplementing for the first time. It works!
It is possible to stimulate your body to produce more CoQ by increasing
intake of certain nutrients, such as the amino acid, tyrosine,
and the mineral, magnesium. CoQ is manufactured by our own cells
from the amino acid, tyrosine and farnesyl, an intermediate in
the production of cholesterol. Magnesium is a required catalyst
for CoQ synthesis and that is one reason why many people feel
more energetic after magnesium supplementation.
On the other hand, some medications can interfere with CoQ. Lovastatin,
which blocks cholesterol synthesis by preventing the production
of farnesyl, can induce a state of chronic fatigue. Anti-hypertensive
beta-blocker medications, such as propanolal, also interfere with
CoQ and the fatigue and weakened heart-beat caused by these medications
can be reversed by supplemental CoQ. Doxorubicin (Adriamycin),
an anti-cancer antibiotic, blocks CoQ so completely that some
patients suffer heart damage--which is preventable by taking CoQ.
Tetracycline antibiotics, such as doxycycline, also block CoQ
and cause fatigue and weakness, which responds to CoQ supplements.
Barbiturates also block CoQ and so do the common phenothiazine
tranquilizers and tricyclic anti-depressants.
Pesticides (especially rotenone) and toxic chemicals, including
ozone and solvents, also deplete CoQ. With so many hazards in
the environment, it is more important than ever to get extra CoQ
in food or in supplements. It appears that as little as 30 milligrams
per day is adequate for everyday use. For significant medical
symptoms, however, doses of 60 to 120 milligrams per day for at
least two months may be required. It is unlikely that these megadose
intakes can be obtained through food. What are the best dietary
sources?
Cells that contain mitochondria for oxidation are the best souce
of CoQ. The more mitochondria, the more energy production, the
more CoQ. Heart is the richest food source of CoQ because it is
the most active muscle in our body, contracting once a second,
day and night. It contains about 6 milligrams of CoQ per 3 ounce
portion. Liver contains a quarter as much and body muscle meats
a fifth to a tenth as much. Spinach has about 2/3 as much as heart
but portions are smaller, usually only an ounce and that cuts
the actual intake to about 1.5 milligrams.
Seeds contain coenzyme Q and unrefined corn oil and rice oil actually
contain 3 to 5 times more CoQ than does heart! On average a tablespoonful
of unrefined salad oil contains between a half milligram and 6
milligrams. If these natural foods are eaten regularly the Co
Q intake might come up to 12 or 15 mg daily. Incidentally, tobacco
leaf is the champion source, containing 184 mg in a quarter pound.
In fact, the Japanese companies make their CoQ from tobacco, however
it is only released by means of bacterial fermentation not by
smoking.
CoQ is required for cell energy. This translates into increased
cell activity, greater production of cellular products, such as
proteins for faster healing of wounds and hormones, for adaptation.
There are impressive reports of improved blood sugar in diabetes,
for instance. CoQ strengthens the immune system, conferring greater
resistance to infection, not due to increased numbers of white
blood cells but greater potency of the existing cells. This has
obvious applications in AIDS.
Red blood cells also thrive with CoQ and some cases of anemia
respond very well. Skin cells are responsive and psoriasis, in
particular, may improve. Bleeding gums due to periodontal disease
often clear up after a time on CoQ--even when the blood level
is normal. Nerve tissue is sensitive to CoQ and it is a useful
treatment of retinal diseases, including optic atrophy. It is
also beneficial in peripheral nerve disease.
But it is in the treatment of heart conditions that CoQ is most
impressive, especially in patients with cardiomyopathy and congestive
heart failure. In one major study 75 percent of those on CoQ survived
6 years while 75 percent not on CoQ died in 3 years or less. High
blood pressure often improves on CoQ and mitral valve prolapse
is very responsive. Even in normal conditions, large doses of
CoQ increase muscle strength and cardiac output: this is especially
noticeable amongst athletes and long distance runners, where performance
is more obvious and measurable.
Tissue levels of CoQ decline as much as 80% in old age and this
single fact appears to explain some of the increased risk of heart
failure, immune dysfunction, delayed healing and general weakening
of energy and strength that are stereotypical of growing old.
By simply taking supplements of CoQ, this age-related drop in
vitality can be reversed to an amazing extent.
Finally, in the research laboratory, treatment with CoQ extends
the life span of mice by about 50 percent. Compare this to the
low calorie life extension diet, which yields a 30 percent increase
in lifespan in mice. CoQ is certainly more pleasant than a life
of semi-starvation. If this is verified for humans, vitamin Q
should become a household word. It should already be prized as
a powerful treatment in medical practice. For those of us in orthomolecular
medicine it is.
©2000 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.
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