Coenzyme Q10 is an oil-soluble substance with vitamin-like properties. The substance is contained in most types of eukaryotic cells and is a primary substance present in mitochondria. it is an important ingredient in the electron transport chain and is useful in several important biological activities like aerobic cellular respiration and ATP generation. These comprise 90 percent of energy generation in the human body
Discovery
Coenzyme Q is pronounced like Coke U-10. Professor Andrew L. Crane and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Enzyme Institute were the first to discover the substance back in the year 1957. In 1958, Dr. Karl Folkers and coworkers at Merck came up with the chemical structure of the substance.
Alternative Names
· Ubiquinone
· Ubidecarenone
· Coenzyme Q
Abbreviated Forms
· CoQ10
· CoQ
· Q10
· Q
Chemical Composition
Coenzyme Q10 is chemically 1,4-benzoquinone, where Q is referred to the chemical group - quinone and 10 is referred to the chemical subunits of isoprenyl.
Biochemical role
Coenzyme Q10 is finds place in the membranes of several organelles and the primary role of this substance is to generate energy in the cells. The highest concentration of CoQ10 is in the inner membrane of mitochondrion. CoQ10 is present in a lesser amount in some of the following organelles:
· Endoplasmic reticulum
· Peroxisomes
· Lysosomes
· Vesicles
Levels of Coenzyme Q10 in the body
The production of Coenzyme Q10 takes place within the human body itself and comes of use in the basic functioning of body cells. However, the levels of these substances go down as one ages. Also patients with the following chronic diseases can have low levels of CoQ10:
· Heart conditions
· Muscular dystrophies
· Parkinson's disease
· Cancer
· Diabetes
· HIV/AIDS
Several medical drugs have also been found to lower the levels of CoQ10 in the human body. Taking in of CoQ10 supplements externally, can again boost in the levels of the substance in the body, although it is still under research if replacement of "low CoQ10" is actually beneficial or not.
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