Safety assessment of PureSorb-Q™40 in healthy subjects and serum coenzyme Q10 level in excessive dosing

Abstract

PureSorb-Q™40 (water-soluble type CoQ10 powder, CoQ 10 content is 40 w/ w%; hereinafter referred to as P40) is reported in the single-dose human and rat studies to have a greater absorption rate and absorbed volume of CoQ10 even taken postprandially, than those of regular CoQ10, which is lipid-soluble and generally taken in the form of soft-gel capsules. Thus, it was anticipated that the serum CoQ10 level might be higher with P40 tablets than with soft-gel capsules, even for the same dose of CoQ10. In the present study, in order to confirm the safety and measure the serum CoQ10 level for the case of an excessive dose of P40, a double-blinded Placebo controlled comparative study was conducted on 46 healthy volunteers and they were randomly divided into two groups. The P40 tablets or placebo were repeatedly taken by the volunteers. As the result of the study, for the group of taking 2,250 mg/d of P40 (that is, 900 mg/d of CoQ10) for 4 consecutive wk, the serum CoQ10 level peaked at 2 wk after the start of intake at 8.79 ± 3.34 μg/mL, and at 4 wk, it was at the level of 8.33 ± 4.04 μg/mL. At 2 wk from withdrawal of intake, the serum CoQ10 level decreased to 1.30 ± 0.49 μg/mL. The serum CoQ10 levels at these three points were significantly higher than those of the first day of intake and the Placebo group, which had no significant change throughout the study. Furthermore, P40 intake did not cause any significant changes in symptoms or clinical laboratory results as assessed by physical, hematological, blood biochemical or urinalysis tests. Physician examinations also did not reveal any abnormalities. These results confirm that P40 is an extremely safe material and it can produce better absorption of CoQ10.