What is QH?

Coenzyme Q10 (Q10) is a vitamin-like nutrient, ubiquitously present in almost all cells, which plays an essential role in the energy production of cells through the respiratory chain in mitochondria. It has also several other functions of great importance for the cellular metabolism, as antioxidant and also involved in cell signaling and gene expression. It has two forms: oxidized form and reduced form. They are constantly changing into the other form inside the human cells as they make their function. Coenzyme Q10 reduced form (QH), is the most common form of Q10 in vivo, and accounts for more than 80% of the total Q10 pool in human plasma, intestine and liver.

Properties of QH

Q10 is vital for providing energy to cells, helping organs perform at their best, protecting cells and blood from oxidation. As the body ages, the natural Q10 levels slowly decline and the lack of Q10 will impact on people’ health and quality of life. When the content of Q10 in the body is less than 75%, the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other incidence rate will rise significantly; when the content of Q10 in the body is less than 25%, it will pose a threat to life and health. These important biological roles have motivated the use of Q10 as dietary supplements for improving body protection against aging by oxidative stress with a particular focus on heart and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the oral bioavailability of the highly lipophilic Q10 is very low with an extremely poor aqueous solubility (0.7 ng/ml). QH has been shown to be between 1,7 to 2 times more bioavailable than Q10 in solid formulations. However, the more bioavailable form of QH shows extreme chemical instability upon exposure to air, light and high temperature, making Q10 the default option in standard formulations which makes it difficult to prepare efficient pharmaceutical solid formulations.

A highly stabilized Crystal QH®

Through cocrystal engineering, Cocrystal Technology has developed a unique proprietary combination of QH and niacinamide (vitamin B3) that stabilizes QH, avoiding its oxidation into its oxidized form and also making it 220% more bioavailable than that of the marketed QH and 4 times as that of the common Q10 formulations. In addition, the Crystal QH® presents much higher solubility, faster dissolution rate and improved anti-diabetic effect than that of marketed form.