CoQ10 May Offer Help for Fatigue During Exercise

by | Jul 2, 2008 | 2008, Antioxidants, CoQ10 (Coenzyme Q10), Fitness and Exercise

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Those taking 300 mg CoQ10 for 8 days had 22% less fatigue compared to a placebo group in a test on a stationary bike.

CoQ10 was first identified in 1957 and was known as “ubiquinone” because it is found everywhere in the body.  It is found in the highest amounts in the heart, liver, kidneys, and pancreas and in lowest amounts in the lungs (1).  While helping to maintain healthy levels of inflammation (2), CoQ10 has been found to help with mental health (3), migraines (4), heart health (5), and even blood sugar health (6).

Now a new study (7) has found that CoQ10 can also help with fatigue during exercise. In the study, 17 healthy patients took either 100 mg of CoQ10, 300 mg of CoQ10, or placebo per day for 8 days.  The patients exercised for two hours on a stationary bike twice per day (at 8 am and 4:30 pm) at a workload which produced 80% of their maximum heart rate.  The patients filled out an evaluation form called visual analog scale, rating fatigue from 0 (no fatigue) to 100 (complete exhaustion) (8) and had blood pressure and blood samples taken after each exercise session.

While there was no difference in blood pressure changes between the three groups, the researchers found that those in 300 mg group of CoQ10 reported 22% less fatigue than the placebo group and 13% less fatigue than the 100 mg group.  Exact numbers were not provided by the researcher but were plotted on a bar graph.

For the researchers, “oral administration of coenzyme Q10 improved subjective fatigue sensation and physical performance during fatigue-inducing workload trials” and that “administration of coenzyme Q10 might prevent unfavorable conditions as a result of physical fatigue.”

Source: Mizuno, Kei, Masaaki Tanaka, Satoshi Nozaki, Hiroshi Mizuma, Suzuka Ataka, Tsuyoshi Tahara, Tomohiro Sugino et al. “Antifatigue effects of coenzyme Q10 during physical fatigue.” Nutrition 24, no. 4 (2008): 293-299.

© 2008 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc

Posted july 2, 2008.

Definitions: 

Ubiquinone-the original name given to COQ10 from “ubiquitous” which means “found everywhere”.

References:

  1. “Questions and answers about Coenzyme Q10” posted on the National Cancer Institute Website.
  2. Wang, X.L., et al., Cosupplementation with vitamin E and coenzyme Q10 reduces circulating markers of inflammation in baboons. Am J Clin Nutr, 2004. 80(3): p. 649-55
  3. Ishrat T.  Coenzyme Q10 modulates cognitive impairment against intracerebroventricular injection of streptozotocin in rats.  Printed online in Behavioural Brain Research doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2006.03.009
  4. Pothmann, R.  Migraine Prevention in Children and Adolescents: Results of an Open Study With a Special Butterbur Root Extract.  Headache 2005; 45(3): 196-203
  5. Wisloff, U., S. M. Najjar, et al. (2005). “Cardiovascular risk factors emerge after artificial selection for low aerobic capacity.” Science 307(5708): 418-20
  6. Petersen, K. F., D. Befroy, et al. (2003). “Mitochondrial dysfunction in the elderly: possible role in insulin resistance.” Science 300(5622): 1140-2
  7. Mizuno K.  Antifatigue effects of coenzyme Q10 during physical fatigue.  Nutrition 2008; 24(4): 293-299