Researchers from the US company BioActives compared formulations of CoQ10 with cyclodextrin in a hard gelatin capsules with oil-solubilized CoQ10 soft gels and found that 100 per cent of the subjects experienced increases in CoQ10 levels compared to only 44 per cent of subjects in the soft gel group, according to findings published in Integrative Medicine.
A CoQ10 response was defined as a doubling of CoQ10 levels, and the results support the ability of the CoQ10-cyclodextrin to “deliver both maintenance and therapeutic doses of CoQ10”, according to the study authors, Doddabele Madhavi and Daniel Kagan from BioActives, the company that manufactures the Micro-Active CoQ10-branded ingredient used in the study.
Supplement composition
The Micro-Active CoQ10 ingredient, manufactured by BioActives and distributed by Maypro, is composed of CoQ10 complexed with cyclodextrin and oligosaccharides. Dan Lifton, Maypro’s VP of business development, confirmed that the material is available in the US and Europe.
The complexation of Q10 with cyclodextrins was reportedly first studied in mid-nineties, and previously, researchers from Wacker-Chemie reported improved bioavailability for CoQ10 when complexed with gamma-cylcodextrin.
Lifton told this website that beta-cyclodextrin is allowed in Europe whereas gamma-cyclodextrin is currently forbidden in Europe. The cyclodextrin used in the Micro-Active CoQ10 ingredient is derived from potato starch and is non-GMO, added Maypro.
Delivery is key
There is an ever-growing body of scientific data that shows substantial health benefits of CoQ10 supplementation for people suffering from angina, heart attack and hypertension. Clinical trials have also reported benefits for cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure.
However, the formulation of the CoQ10 is known to play a key role in its bioavailability. Since the coenzyme is lipophilic (fat-loving) its absorption is enhanced in the presence of lipids. Therefore, when taken as a supplement apart from meals, the absorption of some formulations is lower.
Trials with CoQ10 supplements in powder and oil-suspension forms are reported to result in small or negligible responses in plasma CoQ10 concentrations.
Study details
Madhavi and Kagan recruited 22 people aged between 25 and 57 and randomly assigned them to one of two groups. One group received CoQ10 with cyclodextrin in hard gelatin capsules, while the other group received oil-solubilized CoQ10 soft gels. Both groups received a daily dose of 60 mg CoQ10 for 21 days.
At the end of the study, Madhavi and Kagan report a 3.7-fold increase in the bioavailability, and a minimum of doubling in the plasma co-Q10 levels in all people in the CoQ10 cyclodextrin group, compared to in only 44 per cent of the people in the soft gel group.
“The problem with most increased bioavailability claims is that they don’t apply to everyone,” explained Kagan. “The reason? They don’t take into account inter-subject variance – the difference in absorption rates among subjects. Because bioavailability is calculated as the average absorption rate of all subjects in a study, just one ‘super-absorber’ can artificially inflate the bioavailability average.”
Source: Integrated Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal
Feb/Mar 2010, Volume 9, Number 1, Pages 20-24
“A Study on the Bioavailability of a Sustained-release Coenzyme Q10-β-Cyclodextrin Complex”
Authors: D. Madhavi, D. Kagan