Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation on Infectious Diseases

Abstract

With the appearance of new viruses and infectious diseases (ID) such as COVID-19 in 2019, as well as the lack of specific pharmacological tools for the management of patients with severe complications or comorbidities, it is important to search for adjuvant treatments that help improve the prognosis of infectious disease patients. It is also important that these treatments limit the oxidative and hyperinflammatory damage caused as a response to pathogenic agents, since, in some cases, an inflammatory syndrome may develop that worsens the patient's prognosis. The potential benefits of complementary nutrients and dietary interventions in the treatment of pathological processes in which oxidative stress and inflammation play a fundamental role have been widely evaluated. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a supplement that has been shown to protect cells and be effective in cardiovascular diseases and obesity. Additionally, some studies have proposed it as a possible adjuvant treatment in viral infections. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that CoQ10 has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and effects on mitochondrial dysfunction, which have been linked to the inflammatory response.

Keywords: CoQ10; antioxidant; infectious disease; inflammation and immunomodulator; ubiquinone.

Figure 1

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions of CoQ10. During an infectious process, the cells of the immune response produce cytokines and reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a mechanism to combat a pathogen, these ROS can produce lipoperoxidation, which can be inhibited by the direct antioxidant effect of CoQ10. The main function of CoQ10 in the mitochondria is to transfer electrons to complex III (CIII). By transferring two electrons to Complex III, the reduced form of CoQ10 (ubiquinol) is oxidized to ubiquinone. The ubiquinol pool can be restored by accepting electrons from members of the electron transport chain (CI and CII). The anti-inflammatory effects of CoQ10 may be linked to the regulation of IL-1, IL-6, CRP and TNF-α gene expression through the NF-kB pathway. Figure was created with BioRender software, (Toronto, ON, Canada) ©biorender.com.