Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jun 23;13(7):760.
doi: 10.3390/antiox13070760.

Ubiquinone (Coenzyme Q-10) Supplementation Influences Exercise-Induced Changes in Serum 25(OH)D3 and the Methyl-Arginine Metabolites: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Jan Mieszkowski  1   2 , Andrzej Kochanowicz  1 , Paulina Brzezińska  1 , Magdalena Kochanowicz  3 , Katarzyna Żołądkiewicz  1 , Błażej Stankiewicz  4 , Bartłomiej Niespodziński  5 , Joanna Reczkowicz  6 , Konrad Kowalski  6 , Jędrzej Antosiewicz  6
Affiliations

Ubiquinone (Coenzyme Q-10) Supplementation Influences Exercise-Induced Changes in Serum 25(OH)D3 and the Methyl-Arginine Metabolites: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Jan Mieszkowski et al. Antioxidants (Basel). .

Abstract

Researchers have studied the effects of exercise on serum methyl-arginine and vitamin D metabolites; however, the effects of exercise combined with antioxidants are not well documented. Since oxidative stress affects the metabolism of vitamin D and methyl-arginine, we hypothesised that the antioxidant coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) might modulate exercise-induced changes. A group of twenty-eight healthy men participated in this study and were divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group. The exercise test was performed until exhaustion, with gradually increasing intensity, before and after the 21-day CoQ10 supplementation. Blood samples were collected before, immediately after, and 3 and 24 h after exercise. CoQ10, vitamin D metabolites, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), symmetric dimethylarginine, methylarginine, dimethylamine, arginine, citrulline, and ornithine were analysed in serum samples. CoQ10 supplementation caused a 2.76-fold increase in the concentration of serum CoQ10. Conversely, the 25(OH)D3 concentration increased after exercise only in the placebo group. ADMA increased after exercise before supplementation, but a decrease was observed in the CoQ10 supplementation group 24 h after exercise. In conclusion, our data indicate that CoQ10 supplementation modifies the effects of exercise on vitamin D and methyl-arginine metabolism, suggesting its beneficial effects. These findings contribute to the understanding of how antioxidants like CoQ10 can modulate biochemical responses to exercise, potentially offering new insights for enhancing athletic performance and recovery.

Keywords: 24,25(OH)2D3; 25(OH)D3; 3-epi-25(OH)D3; coenzyme Q10; endurance exercise; ubiquinone.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders played no role in the design of the study, the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data, the writing of the manuscript, or the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Participants flow diagram.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Changes in serum levels of vitamin D metabolites induced by Bruce protocol treadmill test (BTT) before 21 days of supplementation with CoQ10 (mean ± SD). (A) 25(OH)D3, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3; (B) 25(OH)D2, 25-hydroxyvitamin D2; (C) 24,25(OH)2D3, 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3; (D) 3-epi-25(OH)D3, 3-epi-25-hydroxyvitamin D3; (E) Ratio 24,25(OH)2D3:25(OH)D3, 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3:25-hydroxyvitamin D3; (F) Ratio 3-epi-25(OH)D3:25(OH)D3, 3-epi-25-hydroxyvitamin:25-hydroxyvitamin D3. Black circles, supplementation group (n = 14); grey circles, placebo group (n = 14): I, baseline; II, immediately after BTT; III, 3 h after BTT; IV, 24 h after BTT.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Changes in serum levels of amino acid metabolites induced by Bruce protocol treadmill test (BTT) before 21 days of supplementation with CoQ10 (means ± SD). (A) asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA); (B) arginine (Arg); (C) citrulline (Cit); (D) dimethylamine (DMA); (E) methylarginine (MMA); (F) ornithine (Orn); (G) symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA); (H) ratio of arginine:ADMA. Black circles, supplementation group (n = 14); grey circles, placebo group (n = 14): I, baseline; II, immediately after BTT; III, 3 h after BTT; IV, 24 h after BTT.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Changes in serum levels of vitamin D metabolites induced by Bruce protocol treadmill test (BTT) after 21 days of supplementation with coenzyme Q10 (means and standard deviations). (A) 25(OH)D3, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3; (B) 25(OH)D2, 25-hydroxyvitamin D2; (C) 24,25(OH)2D3, 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3; (D) 3-epi-25(OH)D3, 3-epi-25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (E) Ratio 24,25(OH)2 D3:25(OH)D3, 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3:25-hydroxyvitamin D3; (F) Ratio 3-epi-25(OH)D3:25(OH)D3, 3-epi-25-hydroxyvitamin D3:25-hydroxyvitamin D3. Black circles, supplemented group (n = 14); grey circles, placebo (n = 14). I, resting; II, immediately after BTT; III, 3 h post BTT; IV, 24 h post BTT; * significant difference vs. placebo group in IV time point at p < 0.05; ** significant difference vs. placebo group in I, III and IV time point at p < 0.01; # significant difference vs. CoQ10 group in IV time point at p < 0.05.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Changes in serum levels of amino acid metabolites induced by Bruce protocol treadmill test (BTT) after 21 days of supplementation with coenzyme Q10 (means and standard deviations). (A) asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA); (B) arginine (Arg); (C) citrulline (Cit); (D) dimethylamine (DMA); (E) methylarginine (MMA); (F) ornithine (Orn); (G) symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA); (H) ratio of arginine:ADMA. Black circles, supplemented group (n = 14); grey circles, placebo (n = 14). I, resting; II, immediately after BTT; III, 3 h post BTT; IV, 24 h post BTT; * significant difference vs. supplemented group in all timepoints at p < 0.01; # significant difference vs. supplemented group at p < 0.01.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Agudelo L.Z., Femenia T., Orhan F., Porsmyr-Palmertz M., Goiny M., Martinez-Redondo V., Correia J.C., Izadi M., Bhat M., Schuppe-Koistinen I., et al. Skeletal muscle PGC-1alpha1 modulates kynurenine metabolism and mediates resilience to stress-induced depression. Cell. 2014;159:33–45. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2014.07.051. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Belardinelli R., Mucaj A., Lacalaprice F., Solenghi M., Seddaiu G., Principi F., Tiano L., Littarru G.P. Coenzyme Q10 and exercise training in chronic heart failure. Eur. Heart J. 2006;27:2675–2681. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehl158. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Orlando P., Silvestri S., Galeazzi R., Antonicelli R., Marcheggiani F., Cirilli I., Bacchetti T., Tiano L. Effect of ubiquinol supplementation on biochemical and oxidative stress indexes after intense exercise in young athletes. Redox Rep. 2018;23:136–145. doi: 10.1080/13510002.2018.1472924. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhong W., Gu B., Gu Y., Groome L.J., Sun J., Wang Y. Activation of vitamin D receptor promotes VEGF and CuZn-SOD expression in endothelial cells. J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 2014;140:56–62. doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2013.11.017. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Packer L., Cadenas E., Davies K.J. Free radicals and exercise: An introduction. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 2008;44:123–125. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2007.05.031. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources