Noninvasive instrumental evaluation of coenzyme Q10 phytosome on endothelial reactivity in healthy nonsmoking young volunteers: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover clinical trial

Abstract

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a natural antioxidant compound that prevents the vascular damage induced by free radicals and the activation of inflammatory signaling pathways. Supplementation with CoQ10 is safe though its bioavailability is generally low, as far as variable depending on the pharmaceutical form of preparation. Recently, the development of phytosome technology has improved the bioavailability of CoQ10 and definitely facilitated its effective use in clinical practice. The present double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover clinical study aimed to investigate the effect on endothelial reactivity and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of either acute and chronic supplementation with CoQ10 phytosome in a sample of 20 healthy young nonsmoking subjects. CoQ10 phytosome supplementation acutely improved endothelial reactivity in comparison with baseline and placebo (+4.7% ± 0.9% vs. −0.1 %± 0.3% p < 0.05). Middle-term supplementation of the tested pharmaceutical formulation of CoQ10 significantly improved mean arterial pressure (−2.2 ± 1.1 mmHg vs. 0.2 ± 0.7 mmHg, p < 0.05 vs. placebo) and TAC (+29.6% ± 3.2% vs. +1.9% ± 0.8%, p < 0.05 vs. placebo). Endothelial reactivity improved compared with baseline following middle-term dietary supplementation with CoQ10 phytosome (+5.7% ± 1.1%, p < 0.05).