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CoQ10 supplementation improves glycemic control, lowers cholesterol in randomized trial
CoQ10 supplementation improves glycemic control, lowers cholesterol in randomized trialJuly 22, 2013. The June, 2013 issue of the journal Minerva Gastroenterologica e Dietologica describes a clinical trial conducted at Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran which found improved glycemic control and lower cholesterol levels among diabetics given coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10).
The trial included 64 men and women between 20 and 60 years of age with type 2 diabetes who were randomized to receive 200 milligrams coenzyme Q10 or a placebo for 12 weeks. Blood samples collected upon enrollment and at the trial’s conclusion were analyzed for fasting glucose, hemoglobin A1C (a measure of long term glucose control) and lipids.
At the end of the trial, serum hemoglobin A1C, total cholesterol, and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were reduced in the group that received CoQ10 but did not change significantly in the placebo group. Fasting glucose, triglycerides and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol did not appear to be affected by CoQ10.
In their discussion, authors R. Kolahdouz Mohammadi and colleagues comment that the elevation of blood glucose that occurs in diabetes can increase the generation of reactive oxygen species, which worsen diabetes complications and pancreatic beta cell dysfunction. The decreased antioxidant reserve observed in diabetics may be responsible for some of the benefits attributed to CoQ10 supplementation which, due to its antioxidant property, helps protect beta cells from glucose toxicity.
“The results of this study showed that 12 weeks Q10 supplementation can improve glycemic control, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol but further studies are needed to confirm these findings,” they conclude.
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