CoQ10 is a specific type of molecule called a quinone. What makes quinones, like CoQ10, special is antioxidation, their ability to easily gain or lose electrons, which is essential for many energy-making processes in the body. Q10 can be in three different forms based on its electron state: fully loaded with electrons (ubiquinol), halfway there, or completely without (ubiquinone). You can compare these to a traffic light, being either a green light 🟢(ubiquinol), a yellow light, or a red light 🔴 (ubiquinone). Its ability to switch between these states is important for how ready Q10 is to function as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.

The fat-soluble characteristic of CoQ together with its redox capacity allows this molecule to participate in multiple cellular pathways and functions. This allows it to sit in the inner mitochondrial membrane, where Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) serves as a primary antioxidant, with the mitochondria (where 90% of endogenous free radicals are produced) utilizing it extensively to guard against free radicals. CoQ passes electrons between complex I and complex III.

In the electron transport chain within the mitochondria, CoQ10 accepts electrons (and is reduced to ubiquinol 🟢) and then donates those electrons (returning to its oxidized state as ubiquinone 🔴). This shuttling of electrons is essential for the production of ATP, the primary energy molecule in cells. Moreover, its capacity to oscillate between these states also positions CoQ10 as a vital antioxidant in the body, defending cells from oxidative damage.

During the aging process, as well as in some particular aging-related diseases, a significant reduction in the rate of CoQ biosynthesis seems to occur. Notably, levels of Q10 have been observed to decrease with age, beginning as early as 20.

Numerous clinical trials have associated CoQ10 with a range of health benefits (1). Scientists (7) suspect that supplementing with Q10 would not increase lifespan, but would ameliorate and partially reverse some of the physical declines associated with aging and oxidative stress or hasten recovery from exercise. Additionally, Q10 plays a role in rejuvenating other antioxidants in the body, such as vitamin E and vitamin C.

Its efficacy is also evident in its capacity to boost exercise performance, as seen in reduced damage markers in elite soccer players and swimmers (2), including those as young as 15 — well before the typical age-related decline in Q10 levels. Spanning several decades, the research on CoQ10 is extensive. It's worth noting that supplementation with CoQ10 is generally well-tolerated, exhibiting low toxicity (3). Some studies even indicate the absence of major side effects, at significantly high daily dosages. In 2014 the Q-Symbio study was published, an international multi-center clinical trial that showed significant (43%) heart disease death reduction and improved heart function with Q10 supplementation.  

From an evolutionary perspective, supplementing with Q10 might align more with what is naturally expected of humans. One argument stems from our reduced consumption of organ meats, which comparatively have higher Q10 levels. However, even these organ meats contain Q10 levels that pale in comparison to the dosages found in supplements, typically ranging from 50-300 mg.

The problem doesn’t only seem to be an age-related decline in Q10, but also a change in the ratio between ubiquinol 🟢 (the antioxidant) or ubiquinone 🔴 (which has to be recycled by the body to be used as an antioxidant again). Ubiquinol 🟢 concentrations tend to decrease in the elderly and those with cardiovascular, neurological, or liver issues. Hence, ongoing research aims to ascertain the advantages of ubiquinol 🟢 supplementation for these groups. In healthy, younger individuals, ubiquinol 🟢makes up at least 95% of all the CoQ10 in the plasma (5). In the elderly, particularly those with chronic disease, the percentage of the oxidized ubiquinone 🔴form of CoQ10 increases, leaving less ubiquinol 🟢*(6)*. While the body does produce less as we age, nature might have provided a backup plan.

Green plants are rich in chlorophyll, essential for converting light into energy (ATP). Our evolutionary connection to leafy greens traces back to our last common ancestor with chimpanzees, approximately 10 million years ago, suggesting it's been normal for our species to have significant chlorophyll in circulation.

Intriguingly, research has found that light can penetrate our skin to depths sufficient to trigger metabolic effects. The penetration is so profound that, hypothetically, it would allow someone to read a book inside one's skull.

Other scientists (8) even suspect that our brains optically evolved to maximally capture sunlight.

After consuming green plants, our mitochondria can harness the chlorophyll metabolites circulating in our bodies to produce energy (ATP) with the aid of sunlight. While the energy produced in this manner is modest, the more fascinating revelation is that sunlight-activated chlorophyll can regenerate CoQ10 in humans (and other species), promoting more stable levels throughout aging. This process recycles the CoQ10 that's been spent as an antioxidant, allowing the body to reuse it multiple times. Unfortunately, this mechanism is undermined by modern habits: a majority don't consume sufficient vegetables, and most people spend about 92% of their time indoors where it's considerably darker.* (300 LUX vs 10,000-100,000 LUX outdoors).*

Both dietary and liver-produced Q10 are in an oxidized, ubiquinone 🔴 form. Beyond the recycling mechanism mentioned above, Q10 is also believed to be absorbed in the intestines along with fats, then transformed into its antioxidant form for circulation in the bloodstream.

While chlorophyll is the cornerstone of photosynthesis and plant growth, in humans, it collaborates with light to recycle the spent Q10. So, which foods are rich in chlorophyll to ensure a steady supply of these rejuvenating green molecules?

Chlorophyll is a tryptophan-derived green pigment in plants responsible for capturing light energy in photosynthesis.

Moringa has the most chlorophyll of them all, second place for wheatgrass (composed of 70% chlorophyll). Algae like chlorella and spirulina are higher still, but can't be eaten in high dosages because they would overdose on certain nutrients like iron. Chlorophyll is structurally very similar to a hemoglobin molecule, therefore, foods like wheatgrass have been called “green blood” in some papers.

3,5 million years ago, our primate ancestors started to consume tropical grasses and sedges next to their leaves & fruit when the African Savannah started expanding. Humans are the only surviving primates with a C4 grass diet, wheatgrass being one of them (9). In the 1930s, the world's first multivitamin (Cerophyl) was created which included a mix of grass-stage plant powders made from young grass shoots from wheat, barley, and rye. A testament to the nutrient richness of these grasses in addition to any chlorophyll content.

There are some cool chemistry and evolutionary relationships between tryptophan and a bunch of other things like melatonin, serotonin, and sunlight, which we will use in another biohack, but for today, let’s just remember how sunlight interacts with dietary chlorophyll in our blood to recycle an important antioxidant, Q10.

Levels of Q10 decline through aging, and SolQ strives to keep levels at more youthful levels.

• Vitamin D supplementation becomes necessary in low UV areas. From an evolutionary perspective, daily leaf consumption and sunlight filtering through our skin recycled Q10 from our chlorophyll-rich blood, aiding mitochondrial energy production

• Therefore Eat green leafy vegetables and supplement with cereal grasses to keep circulating chlorophyll levels high

• Isolated chlorophyll supplements exist, but I have not researched their safety, and therefore not recommending these here

• After eating, go outside and hit the sunshine for more ATP and more CoQ10 recycled in the ubiquinol 🟢form

• Until recently, elevating plasma ubiquinol 🟢levels always demanded this internal ubiquinone 🔴conversion—a process increasingly challenging with age and in modern living conditions. Stabilizing ubiquinol 🟢for supplement use took over a decade due to its oxidation susceptibility. Since 2006, manufacturers have succeeded in commercially producing CoQ10 in the Ubiquinol 🟢form. Therefore you can take a supplement of this directly, I propose a 50-100 mg dose, daily

• Rage, rage against the dying of the light (I always have wanted to quote that somewhere, looks like it’s my lucky day).

SOURCES

(1) Hernández-Camacho, J. D., Bernier, M., López-Lluch, G., & Navas, P. (2018). Coenzyme Q10 supplementation in aging and disease. Frontiers in physiology, 9, 44.

(2) Emami, A., Tofighi, A., Asri-Rezaei, S., & Bazargani-Gilani, B. (2018). The effect of short-term coenzyme Q10 supplementation and pre-cooling strategy on cardiac damage markers in elite swimmers. British Journal of Nutrition, 119(4), 381-390.

(3) Hidaka, T., Fujii, K., Funahashi, I., Fukutomi, N., & Hosoe, K. (2008). Safety assessment of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). Biofactors, 32(1‐4), 199-208.

(4) Mortensen, S. A., Rosenfeldt, F., Kumar, A., Dolliner, P., Filipiak, K. J., Pella, D., ... & Q-SYMBIO study investigators. (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 Failure, 2(6), 641-649.

(5) Tang PH, Miles MV, DeGrauw A, et al. HPLC analysis of reduced and oxidized coenzyme Q(10) in human plasma. Clin Chem. 2001 Feb;47(2):256-65.

(6) Wada H, Goto H, Hagiwara S, et al. Redox status of coenzyme Q10 is associated with chronological age. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2007 Jul;55(7):1141-2.

(7) Díaz-Casado, M. E., Quiles, J. L., Barriocanal-Casado, E., González-García, P., Battino, M., López, L. C., & Varela-López, A. (2019). The paradox of coenzyme Q10 in aging. Nutrients, 11(9), 2221.

(8) Zimmerman, S., & Reiter, R. J. (2019). Melatonin and the optics of the human body. Melatonin Research, 2(1), 138-160.

(9) University of Utah. (2013, June 3). A grassy trend in human ancestors' diets. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 29, 2023 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130603163749.htm