Miso Soup Consumption Enhances the Bioavailability of the Reduced Form of Supplemental Coenzyme Q10

Abstract

Coenzyme Q₁₀ (CoQ₁₀) is an essential compound that is involved in energy production and is a lipid-soluble antioxidant. Although it has been proposed as an antiaging and a health-supporting supplement, its low bioavailability remains a significant issue. Concurrent food intake enhances the absorption of orally administered CoQ₁₀, but it has not been fully established whether specific food substances affect intestinal CoQ₁₀ absorption. Therefore, to determine whether the bioavailability of supplemental CoQ₁₀ is affected by diet, P30, a granulated and reduced form of CoQ₁₀, was dispersed in four different foods, clear soup, miso soup, milk soup, and raw egg sauce. Those foods which contained CoQ₁₀ were consumed on different occasions at intervals of 6-14 weeks by the same participants. Thirteen participants were recruited in the single-dose and repeated clinical study. When miso soup containing P30 was provided, the serum CoQ₁₀ concentration increased faster than when participants consumed other P30-containing soups or a P30-containing raw egg sauce. The area under the curve for serum CoQ₁₀ during the first 5 h after consumption of the P30-containing miso soup was approximately 1.5 times larger than those after the consumption of other P30-containing meals. These data imply that the absorption of CoQ₁₀ supplements can be enhanced by consuming them with food and in particular with specific food substances, such as miso soup.

Figure 1

Changes in serum total CoQ₁₀ concentration (a) and a comparison of ΔAUC_0–5 (b) after the consumption of P30 in clear soup, P30 in miso soup, P30 in milk soup, or P30 in raw egg sauce. 120 mg of CoQ₁₀ was administered. In Figure 1(a), the open circle represents P30 in clear soup, closed circle represents P30 in miso soup, open triangle represents P30 in milk soup, and open square indicates P30 in raw egg sauce. Data are mean ± SD for the eight individuals who participated in all four of the experiments. Figure 1(b) shows box plots for the ΔAUC_0–5 for these eight participants. The boundary of the box closest to zero indicates the 25th percentile, the line within the box indicates the median, the multiplication sign within the box indicates the mean, and the boundary of the box farthest from the origin indicates the 75th percentile. Whiskers above and below the box indicate the 10th and 90th percentiles. Data were analyzed with one-way analysis of variance with repeated measures, and differences between the means were evaluated using Holm–Bonferroni post hoc tests. Different lower case letters indicate significant differences, with P < 0.05.