The Role of Co-Enzyme Q10 in The Respiratory Chain and Some of Its Clinical Indications: A review

Abstract

Background: The usage of supplements becomes an important part of everyone health since many of these materials have produced real improvement in general health. These materials are not approved by organization like Food and Drug Administration in the US and the Food Safety Authority in Europe as drugs but their usage as supplement are approved globally. The supplements that will discuss in this review is co-enzyme Q10. It is a potent antioxidant and an essential part of respiratory chain. It acts as a mobile electron carrier between respiratory complexes. When co-enzyme Q10 transfer electron in the oxidative system, it acts to transport proton out of the mitochondria and this produce concentration gradient across membrane. Proton returns inside by enzymatic machine which involved ATP synthesis. Co-enzyme Q10 is the third wide-world used supplement. There are many studies confirm it benefit in many clinical conditions. These include the cardiovascular system, protection against statin induces myopathy, diabetes, neurodegenerative disease in addition to improvement in liver functions. These benefits occurred mainly due to its antioxidant effect and electron scavenging ability which result in reducing oxidative stress and related cell and tissue damage. Objective This study tries to show the important role of coenzyme Q10 in energy production and spots the light toward the main clinical application of this supplement. Coenzyme Q10 is one of the main elements in the respiratory chain and it is endogenously synthesis since its presence is essential for life. Its availability may reduce in many disease conditions so supplementation of it within diet may become important in management of various disorders.