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In May, 2020, the American dietary supplement company NOW Foods, based in Bloomingdale, IL, announced that it had purchased 10 Coenzyme Q10 products from amazon.com and subjected the products to analytical testing. NOW Foods’ in-house laboratory testing of the 10 products showed that none of the products met the label claim in terms of CoQ10 content [Schultz 2020a].
Only three of the 10 CoQ10 products contained above 80% of the declared CoQ10 content [Schultz 2020a]. Clearly, purchasers of CoQ10 products on amazon.com (and in supermarkets and drugstores) are at risk of paying good money for products with a dubious quality.
This is alarming. If manufacturers are unable to provide the content indicated on the label, how can we trust that the formulation of the product will give a good bioavailability and good health benefits?
In this respect, you can rest assured that Pharma Nord’s Bio-Quinone Active CoQ10 GOLD is a safe choice. It is produced to medical standards and has clinically documented bioavailability and health effects.
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Association Plans to Test Every CoQ10 Product on the Market
In August, 2020, the CoQ10 Association, based in Salt Lake City, UT, announced that it plans to test every CoQ10 product on the market in the United States, both products available in stores and products available online [Schultz 2020b].
The CoQ10 Association will test the products for potency and for purity. If all goes according to plan, the CoQ10 Association project will be completed by the end of 2020 [Schultz 2020b].
Consumers Need More than Potency and Purity Testing
By potency, the CoQ10 Association means that there should be 100 milligrams of Coenzyme Q10 in a capsule labelled 100 milligrams. By purity, the association means that there should not be superfluous, undeclared and possibly even harmful ingredients in the CoQ10 products.
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Pharma Nord Welcomes Testing of CoQ10 Products
At Pharma Nord, we welcome this testing. It is a necessary step in a marketplace that has a difficult time stopping the global and domestic industry from introducing products that manage to circumvent FDA regulations for the labelling of dietary supplements in the US.
However, we would like to make the point that adequate potency and purity are still not enough. Consumers deserve to see documentation of the bioavailability of the Coenzyme Q10 from each product, and they should also be able to see documentation of the health benefits of taking the CoQ10 supplement.
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Documentation for the Bioavailability and Efficacy of Bio-Quinone
At Pharma Nord, we can document the bioavailability and efficacy of Bio-Quinone, Active CoQ10 GOLD.
*** In a 2019 double-blind crossover study, the Bio-Quinone CoQ10 Gold formulation yielded significantly greater bioavailability than five other ubiquinone formulations and than one ubiquinol formulation [Lopez-Lluch 2019].
*** In a 2014 randomized controlled study, daily supplementation with 300 milligrams of the medicinal version of Bio-Quinone CoQ10 Gold for two years resulted in significantly improved survival and significantly reduced symptoms in chronic heart failure patients [Mortensen 2014].
*** Bio-Quinone CoQ10 Gold has been tested for safety in supplementation of type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes patients [Henriksen 1999; Eriksson 1999] and in supplementation of patients taking an anti-coagulant drug [Engelsen 2002].
*** The administration of Bio-Quinone CoQ10 Gold significantly improves the symptoms of statin-associated pain and weakness [Fedacko 2013].
Read more about the Bio-Quinone CoQ10 Study Summaries here.
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The Quality of CoQ10 Products Varies Considerably
Even CoQ10 products with 100% potency in terms of content, and 100% purity may not deliver a satisfactory bioavailability. In one comparative study [Lopez-Lluch 2019], five out of six formulations, all with 100 milligrams of Coenzyme Q10 in the softgel, failed to provide a good bioavailability.
With inadequate bioavailability of the Coenzyme Q10 product, the customer will have a difficult time deriving good health benefits from the product.
The formulation of the CoQ10 supplement is the decisive factor.
Lower priced CoQ10 supplements may also have low bioavailability. If they do, consumers will end up wasting most of their money spent on the product, because the CoQ10 is simply not absorbed in the body. In that respect, a low-priced CoQ10 product may end up being the most expensive solution in the long run.
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Engelsen J, Nielsen JD, Winther K. Effect of coenzyme Q10 and Ginkgo biloba on warfarin dosage in stable, long-term warfarin treated outpatients. A randomised, double blind, placebo-crossover trial. Thromb Haemost. 2002;87(6):1075-1076.
Eriksson JG, Forsén TJ, Mortensen SA, Rohde M. The effect of coenzyme Q10 administration on metabolic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Biofactors. 1999;9(2-4):315-318.
Fedacko J, Pella D, Fedackova P, et al. Coenzyme Q(10) and selenium in statin-associated myopathy treatment. Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 2013;91(2):165-170.
Henriksen JE, Andersen CB, Hother-Nielsen O, Vaag A, Mortensen SA, Beck-Nielsen H. Impact of ubiquinone (coenzyme Q10) treatment on glycaemic control, insulin requirement and well-being in patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus. Diabet Med. 1999;16(4):312-318.
López-Lluch G, Del Pozo-Cruz J, Sánchez-Cuesta A, Cortés-Rodríguez AB, Navas P. Bioavailability of coenzyme Q10 supplements depends on carrier lipids and solubilization. Nutrition. 2019;57:133-140.
Mortensen SA, Rosenfeldt F, Kumar A, et al. The effect of coenzyme Q10 on morbidity and mortality in chronic heart failure: results from Q-SYMBIO: a randomized double-blind trial. JACC Heart Fail. 2014;2(6):641-649.
Schultz H. NOW Testing Reveals CoQ10, SAMe Products Sold on Amazon to be of Almost Uniformly Low Potency. 2020a, May 14. Retrieved from https://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Article/2020/05/14/CoQ10-SAMe-products-sold-on-Amazon-fail-potency-tests.
Schultz H. CoQ10 Association Plans to Test Every Product on the Market. 2020b, August 13. Retrieved from https://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Article/2020/08/06/CoQ10-Association-plans-to-test-every-product-on-market.
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Links to more in-depth information on this topic:
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