Ubiquinol Ameliorates Inflammation and Improves Hematological Parameters Following Strenuous Exercise

by | Mar 9, 2020 | 2020, CoQ10 (Coenzyme Q10), Fitness and Exercise

Written by Angeline A. De Leon, Staff Writer. Ubiquinol supplementation prior to strenuous athletic exercise reduces inflammation, muscle damage and hematological impairment while increasing blood supply.

exerciseThe powerful health benefits of regular physical exercise are well-known 1,2. Exercise has been shown, for example, to improve vascular integrity and boost cerebral blood flow and cognitive function 3. More strenuous forms of exercise, however, can cause adverse effects, including oxidative stress (due to increased circulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines), impairment of immune functions, and hematological changes (decreases in hemoglobin, red blood cell count, RBC) 4-6. In fact, high-performance athletes engaging in high-intensity exercise have been shown to exhibit symptoms of sports anemia, a form of iron deficiency caused by strenuous exercise 7,8. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a key free radical scavenger that has been directly linked to low-intensity exercise performance 9. The effects of CoQ10 on inflammatory signaling and hematological changes during strenuous physical activity, however, are still under investigation. Therefore, in a 2020 study 10 published in Nutrients, researchers sought to determine whether supplementation with ubiquinol (most active form of CoQ10) would help mitigate inflammation and improve hematological parameters following strenuous exercise.

A total of 100 healthy, well-trained firemen (mean age = 38 years) were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in which they were randomly assigned to receive an oral dose of 200 mg of ubiquinol or matching placebo daily for two weeks. Following the supplementation period, subjects were submitted to two identical strenuous exercise tests (with a rest period between tests within 24 hours) consisting of circuit weight training to induce muscle damage. Blood samples were collected at baseline (T1), at the end of the two-week supplementation period (T2), at the end of the first exercise test (T3), following the 24-hour rest period (T4), and at the end of the second exercise test (T5). Inflammatory markers, growth factors, and hematological parameters were evaluated based on samples.

Analyses revealed that for the ubiquinol group, compared to placebo, there was a significant increase in RBC (at T3 and T4), hematocrit (at T3), hemoglobin (at T3 and T4), VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor, involved in formation of new blood vessels) (at T3), EGF (epidermal growth factor, promotes growth of smooth muscle cells) (at T2 and T3), and (interleukin-) IL-10 (at T5) (p < 0.05 for all). Subjects in the ubiquinol group also demonstrated a significant decrease in IL-1 (at T3), IL-8 (at T3), and MCP-1 (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1) (at T3 and T5), relative to placebo (p < 0.05 for all).

Results of the present trial suggest that supplementation with ubiquinol during high-intensity exercise may help modulate inflammatory signaling linked to strenuous exercise. By reducing expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and increasing expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines, ubiquinol may be helpful in ameliorating oxidative stress resulting from intense physical activity. Moreover, ubiquinol’s ability to also boost RBC, hemoglobin, hematocrit, VEGF, and EGF is indicative of a pro-angiogenic effect based on increased blood supply and potential reduction of muscle damage and hematological impairment. Thus, researchers suggest that oral supplementation with ubiquinol prior to performance of strenuous exercise may be helpful in preventing susceptibility to an anti-inflammatory state as well as sports anemia post-exercise. Ubiquinol intake may also facilitate subsequent muscle recovery. Potential limitations of the study include a relatively short follow-up period and limited sample size. Further studies are warranted to determine the optimal dose-response relationship for ubiquinol, and in future trials, it would be important to account for dietary habits (dietary sources of coQ10) of subjects in the interpretation of results.

Source: Diaz-Castro J, Moreno-Fernandez J, Chirosa I, et al. Beneficial effect of ubiquinol on hematological and inflammatory signaling during exercise. Nutrients. 2020; 12: 424. DOI: 10.3390/nu12020424.

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Click here to read the full text study.

Posted March 9, 2020.

Angeline A. De Leon, MA, graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2010, completing a bachelor’s degree in psychology, with a concentration in neuroscience. She received her master’s degree from The Ohio State University in 2013, where she studied clinical neuroscience within an integrative health program. Her specialized area of research involves the complementary use of neuroimaging and neuropsychology-based methodologies to examine how lifestyle factors, such as physical activity and meditation, can influence brain plasticity and enhance overall connectivity.

References:

  1. Kraus WE, Slentz CA. Exercise training, lipid regulation, and insulin action: a tangled web of cause and effect. Obesity. 2009;17(S3):S21-S26.
  2. Warburton DE, Bredin SS. Reflections on physical activity and health: what should we recommend? Canadian Journal of Cardiology. 2016;32(4):495-504.
  3. Norling AM, Gerstenecker AT, Buford TW, Khan B, Oparil S, Lazar RM. The role of exercise in the reversal of IGF-1 deficiencies in microvascular rarefaction and hypertension. GeroScience. 2019:1-18.
  4. Abbasi A, Hauth M, Walter M, et al. Exhaustive exercise modifies different gene expression profiles and pathways in LPS-stimulated and un-stimulated whole blood cultures. Brain, behavior, and immunity. 2014;39:130-141.
  5. Suzuki K, Yamada M, Kurakake S, et al. Circulating cytokines and hormones with immunosuppressive but neutrophil-priming potentials rise after endurance exercise in humans. European journal of applied physiology. 2000;81(4):281-287.
  6. Simon HB. Exercise and health: dose and response, considering both ends of the curve. The American journal of medicine. 2015;128(11):1171-1177.
  7. Kong W-N, Gao G, Chang Y-Z. Hepcidin and sports anemia. Cell & bioscience. 2014;4(1):19.
  8. Domínguez R, Sánchez-Oliver AJ, Mata-Ordoñez F, et al. Effects of an acute exercise bout on serum hepcidin levels. Nutrients. 2018;10(2):209.
  9. Cooke M, Iosia M, Buford T, et al. Effects of acute and 14-day coenzyme Q10 supplementation on exercise performance in both trained and untrained individuals. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2008;5(1):8.
  10. Diaz-Castro J, Moreno-Fernandez J, Chirosa I, Chirosa LJ, Guisado R, Ochoa JJ. Beneficial Effect of Ubiquinol on Hematological and Inflammatory Signaling during Exercise. Nutrients. 2020;12(2):424.