Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation and Its Impact on Exercise and Sport Performance in Humans: A Recovery or a Performance-Enhancing Molecule?

Abstract

Evidence exists to suggest that ROS induce muscular injury with a subsequent decrease in physical performance. Supplementation with certain antioxidants is important for physically active individuals to hasten recovery from fatigue and to prevent exercise damage. The use of nutritional supplements associated with exercise, with the aim of improving health, optimizing training or improving sports performance, is a scientific concern that not only drives many research projects but also generates great expectations in the field of their application in pathology. Since its discovery in the 1970s, coenzyme Q₁₀ (CoQ₁₀) has been one of the most controversial molecules. The interest in determining its true value as a bioenergetic supplement in muscle contraction, antioxidant or in the inflammatory process as a muscle protector in relation to exercise has been studied at different population levels of age, level of physical fitness or sporting aptitude, using different methodologies of effort and with the contribution of data corresponding to very diverse variables. Overall, in the papers reviewed, although the data are inconclusive, they suggest that CoQ₁₀ supplementation may be an interesting molecule in health or disease in individuals without a pathological deficiency and when used for optimising exercise performance. Considering the results observed in the literature, and as a conclusion of this systematic review, we could say that it is an interesting molecule in sports performance. However, clear approaches should be considered when conducting future research.

Keywords: Coenzyme Q10; mitoquinone; nutritional supplement; ubiquinol; ubiquinone.

Figure 1

Full search strategy. Eligibility criteria of the review: randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel design, determining at least plasma CoQ₁₀ levels, and that the human sample were athletes or subjects trained and used to practising high-intensity exercise.