International Coenzyme Q10 Association

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The members of the ICQA in 1997.jpg

The International Coenzyme Q10 Association is a nonprofit association originally based in Ancona, Italy and currently in Seville, Spain. Since its establishment in 1997, it has promoted biochemical and clinical research on the substance Coenzyme Q10 in an attempt to increase the body of knowledge about the preventive and therapeutic health effects of Coenzyme Q10. [1]

Contents

Coenzyme Q molecules are naturally occurring lipid-soluble redox molecules. In humans, they are found in the form of Coenzyme Q10. The most common source of industrially produced Coenzyme Q10 is a yeast fermentation process. [2]

The oxidized state of Coenzyme Q10, called ubiquinone, is essential to the process of mitochondrial bioenergetics. It plays a decisive role in the production of ATP energy. In its reduced state (known as ubiquinol), Coenzyme Q10 is an important lipid-soluble antioxidant. [2]

Coenzyme Q10 also regenerates alpha-tocopherol, the active form of vitamin E. Together with vitamin E, Coenzyme Q10 protects lipoproteins from oxidative damage. Research has shown that Coenzyme Q10 supplementation helps to counteract endothelial dysfunction and has anti-inflammatory effects. [3] As such, Coenzyme Q10 supports good cardiovascular function. [4]

History

In 1996, on the occasion of the Ninth International Symposium on Biomedical and Clinical Aspects of Coenzyme Q in Ancona, Italy, Karl Folkers, the chemist who had determined the structure of the Coenzyme Q10 molecule, laid the plans for the founding of the International Coenzyme Q10 Association. Folkers was assisted in the planning by Gian Paulo Littarru, Ancona, Italy; Svend Aage Mortensen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Sven Moesgaard, Vejle, Denmark; and representatives of Kaneka Nutrients, all of whom were also attending the symposium in Ancona, Italy. [5]

The plans called for the formation of a board consisting of leading Coenzyme Q10 researchers and a secretariat associated with the chairman of the board. The purpose of the new association was to promote biochemical and clinical studies of Coenzyme Q10. [5]

The first supporting partners of the International Coenzyme Q10 Association were Kaneka Nutrients, Japan, and Pharma Nord, Denmark. [6] In 2020, the current supporting members are Jarrow Formulas, mse Pharmazeutika GmbH, and Nutrisan Nutraceuticals. [7]

The following Coenzyme Q10 researchers became the first board members: [5] Gian Paulo Littarru (Chairman), Karl Folkers (Life Trustee), Svend Aage Mortensen (Vice chairman), Fred L. Crane (Vice chairman), Franz Enzmann, Takeo Kishi, Giorgio Lenaz, Anthony Linnane, Magnus Nylander, and Sven Moesgaard.

Structure and activities

As the first chairman of the association, Gian Paulo Littarru established a secretariat in Ancona, Italy. When in 2013, Plácido Navas succeeded Gian Paulo Littarru as the chairman, he kept the secretariat in Ancona.

Moesgaard and Karl Folkers listed the following main purposes for the newly founded International Coenzyme Q10 Association: [5]

By-Laws

In 1996, Karl Folkers and the planning group drafted the original by-laws for the founding of the association. The by-laws had then to be amended to conform to Italian law, as the association was headquartered in Ancona, Italy. [5]

The current statutes, as last revised in Kobe, Japan, on 25 March 2014, can be found at https://icqaproject.org/statutes-of-the-association/.

Chairmen

From 1997 to 2013, Gian-Paulo Littarru, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy, served as chairman of the association.

From 2013 until September 2022, Plácido Navas, Pablo de Olavide University, Sevilla, Spain, has been the chairman. [8]

From September 2022, Guillermo López Lluch (Pablo de Olavide University, Sevilla, Spain, is the chairman. [8]

Board members

The following Coenzyme Q10 scholars are currently board members of the association (2023): [8] Urban Alehagen (University of Linköping, Sweden), Kerstin Elisabet Brismar (Karolinska Institutet, Sweden), Catherine F. Clarke (UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, USA), Maria Luisa Genova (University of Bologna, Italy), Iain Hargreaver (Liverpool John Moores University, UK), Keiichi Higuchi (Shinshu University, Japan), Makoto Kawamukai (Shimane University, Japan), Guillermo López Lluch (Pablo de Olavide University, Spain), Catarina M. Quinzii (Columbia University, NY, USA), Franklin Rosenfeldt (Swinburne University, Australia), Leonardo Salviati (Padova University, Italy), Luca Tiano (Polytechnic University of Marche, Italy), and Alice M. Zemljic-Harpf (University of California, San Diego, USA).

The association’s by-laws provide for three types of membership: [9] regular membership, student membership, and supporting membership.

International conferences of the ICQA

The conference proceedings of the international conferences held by the International Coenzyme Q10 Association have been published:

Earlier International Symposia on the Biomedical and Clinical Aspects of Coenzyme Q

Research publications

It is not possible to list all of the Coenzyme Q10 research projects that Littarru and Navas, as chairmen of the International Coenzyme Q10 Association, have encouraged and supported. Herewith a selection.

Aging and Coenzyme Q10

In 2020, Navas and the association arranged for the publication of a compendium of articles on the subject of Coenzyme Q in Aging. [11] The articles show the importance of Coenzyme Q10 in the progression of aging and in aging-related diseases. Coenzyme Q10 is an essential factor involved in two main aspects of cell function: bioenergetics and antioxidant protection. The chapters in the book present current knowledge on the bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10, the nature of CoQ10 deficiency, and the results of clinical trials based on CoQ10 supplementation.

Bioavailability of Coenzyme Q10

Navas, López-Lluch and a team of researchers conducted a double-blind crossover study of the bioavailability of seven different Coenzyme Q10 formulations over a 48-hour period after ingestion of 100 mg. The researchers measured the Cmax and the area under the curve for each CoQ10 formulation in 14 healthy volunteers. They used a four-week washout period between the administration of each formulation. [12]

The study results showed that a ubiquinone Coenzyme Q10 formulation produced with a patented heating and cooling crystal dissolution process had a 48-hour area under the curve that was approximately four times greater than the corresponding area under the curve for a ubiquinone CoQ10 formulation not subjected to the same process. Similarly, the 48-hour area under the curve for a ubiquinol formulation was only 52% of the area under the curve for the patented ubiquinone CoQ10 formulation. The study illustrated that the formulation of the CoQ10 supplement is more important for absorption and bioavailability than the form is, i.e. whether ubiquinone or ubiquinol. [12]

Cardiovascular disease and Coenzyme Q10

Littarru was a co-author on the Mortensen Q-Symbio Study of the effect of adjunctive Coenzyme Q10 treatment on morbidity and mortality in chronic heart failure patients. The study showed that daily supplementation with 3 x 100 mg for two years significantly improved the survival and symptoms compared to placebo treatment. [13]

In the European sub-population of the Q-Symbio Study, researchers found significantly fewer major cardiovascular adverse effects, significantly reduced risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, significantly reduced NYHA classification, and significantly reduced left ventricular ejection fraction. [14]

The KiSel-10 Study evaluated the effect of combined Coenzyme Q10 (2 x 100 mg) and selenium-enriched yeast (1 x 200 microg) daily for four years on the risk of heart disease in community living senior citizens. Compared to placebo, the combined Coenzyme Q10 and selenium treatment significantly reduced the risk of heart disease, improved heart function, and improved health-related quality of life. [15] The beneficial effects of the supplementation persisted through the 12th year of follow-up. The researchers attributed the positive effects of the supplementation to the reduction of oxidative stress, systemic inflammation, and fibrosis. [16]

Littarru was the lead author on a review of the effect of Coenzyme Q10 on endothelial dysfunction in ischemic heart disease. [3] Compared with placebo, Coenzyme Q10 supplementation improved endothelial dysfunction in statin-treated type 2 diabetic patients. The average improvement in endothelium-dependent relaxation was six times greater in patients with plasma Coenzyme Q10 levels higher than 2.4 microg/mL as compared to patients with plasma Coenzyme Q10 levels below 2.4 microg/mL.

Physical activity and Coenzyme Q10

In 2014, Navas and López-Lluch reported research results that showed that physical activity affects plasma Coenzyme Q10 levels differently in young and old humans. In young people, more strenuous physical activity was correlated with lower plasma CoQ10 levels; in older adults, greater physical activity was related to higher plasma CoQ10 levels and higher Coenzyme Q10 to cholesterol ratios. The higher plasma CoQ10 levels were associated with lower lipid peroxidation and lower oxidized LDL levels in elderly people. [17]

In a second study, the researchers showed that elderly people with higher levels of functional capacity had higher levels of plasma Coenzyme Q10 as well as lower plasma levels of cholesterol and lipid peroxidation. Elderly people with greater physical capacity had higher ratios of Coenzyme Q10 to cholesterol and Coenzyme Q10 to LDL lipoproteins. [18]

Safety of Coenzyme Q10

The association supported work on a review of the safety profile of Coenzyme Q10 based on animal and human data. Coenzyme Q10 has low toxicity and does not induce serious adverse effects in humans. Clinical trial data indicates that the observed safety level for Coenzyme Q10 intakes is 1200 mg/day/person. Exogenous Coenzyme Q10 does not influence the biosynthesis of endogenous Coenzyme Q10; Coenzyme Q10 does not accumulate in plasma or tissues after the cessation of supplementation. The data from preclinical and clinical studies indicate that Coenzyme Q10 is highly safe for use as a nutritional supplement. [19]

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References

  1. ↑ International Coenzyme Q10 Association (2020). "About Us".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 Littarru GP, Lambrechts P. (2011). "Coenzyme Q10: multiple benefits in one ingredient". OCL. 18 (2): 76–82. doi: 10.1051/ocl.2011.0374 .
  3. 1 2 Littarru GP, Tiano L, Belardinelli R, Watts GF. (2011). "Coenzyme Q(10), endothelial function, and cardiovascular disease". BioFactors. 37 (5): 366–373. doi:10.1002/biof.154. PMID   21674640.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ Hernández-Camacho JD, Bernier M, López-Lluch G, Navas P. (2018). "Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation in Aging and Disease". Front Physiol. 9: 44. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2018.00044 . PMC   5807419 . PMID   29459830.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Moesgaard S. Correspondence with Dr. Karl Folkers. 11 April 1996 and 18 November 1996.
  6. ↑ International Coenzyme Q10 Association (2020). "First Supporting Members".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ International Coenzyme Q10 Association (2020). "Supporting Members".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. 1 2 3 International Coenzyme Q10 Association. "Board Members".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ International Coenzyme Q10 Association (2020). "Membership".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ "The Eighth Conference of the International Coenzyme Q10 Association" (PDF). Bologna, Italy. 2015-10-08.
  11. ↑ López-Lluch, G., ed. (2020). Coenzyme Q in Aging. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature. ISBN   9783030456412.
  12. 1 2 López-Lluch G, Del Pozo-Cruz J, Sánchez-Cuesta A, Cortés-Rodríguez AB, Navas P. (2019). "Bioavailability of coenzyme Q10 supplements depends on carrier lipids and solubilization". Nutrition. 57: 133–140. doi:10.1016/j.nut.2018.05.020. PMID   30153575. S2CID   52131541.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ Mortensen SA, Rosenfeldt F, Kumar A, et al. (2014). "The effect of coenzyme Q10 on morbidity and mortality in chronic heart failure: results from Q-Symbio: a randomized double-blind trial". JACC Heart Fail. 2 (6): 641–649. doi: 10.1016/j.jchf.2014.06.008 . PMID   25282031.
  14. ↑ Mortensen AL, Rosenfeldt F, Filipiak KJ. (2019). "Effect of coenzyme Q10 in Europeans with chronic heart failure: A sub-group analysis of the Q-Symbio randomized double-blind trial". Cardiol J. 26 (2): 147–156. doi: 10.5603/CJ.a2019.0022 . PMC   8086660 . PMID   30835327.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ Alehagen U, Johansson P, Björnstedt M, Rosén A, Dahlström U. (2013). "Cardiovascular mortality and N-terminal-proBNP reduced after combined selenium and coenzyme Q10 supplementation: a 5-year prospective randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial among elderly Swedish citizens". Int J Cardiol. 167 (5): 1860–1866. doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2012.04.156. PMID   22626835.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ Alehagen U, Aaseth J, Alexander J, Johansson P. (2018). "Still reduced cardiovascular mortality 12 years after supplementation with selenium and coenzyme Q10 for four years: A validation of previous 10-year follow-up results of a prospective randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial in elderly". PLOS ONE. 13 (4): e0193120. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1393120A. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193120 . PMC   5894963 . PMID   29641571.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ Del Pozo-Cruz J, Rodríguez-Bies E, Ballesteros-Simarro M, et al. (2014). "Physical activity affects plasma coenzyme Q10 levels differently in young and old humans". Biogerontology. 15 (2): 199–211. doi:10.1007/s10522-013-9491-y. PMID   24384733. S2CID   16673350.
  18. ↑ Del Pozo-Cruz J, Rodríguez-Bies E, Navas-Enamorado I, Del Pozo-Cruz B, Navas P, López-Lluch G. (2014). "Relationship between functional capacity and body mass index with plasma coenzyme Q10 and oxidative damage in community-dwelling elderly-people". Exp Gerontol. 52: 46–54. doi:10.1016/j.exger.2014.01.026. PMID   24512763. S2CID   25360948.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ↑ Hidaka T, Fujii K, Funahashi I, Fukutomi N, Hosoe K. (2008). "Safety assessment of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)". BioFactors. 32 (1–4): 199–208. doi:10.1002/biof.5520320124. PMID   19096117. S2CID   26991997.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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