CoQ₁₀Phytosomes Improve Cellular Ubiquinone Uptake in Skeletal Muscle Cells: An Ex Vivo Study Using CoQ₁₀-Enriched Low-Density Lipoproteins Obtained in a Randomized Crossover Study

• Main Authors: Fabio Marcheggiani (Author), Patrick Orlando (Author), Sonia Silvestri (Author), Ilenia Cirilli (Author), Antonella Riva (Author), Giovanna Petrangolini (Author), Francesca Orsini (Author), Luca Tiano (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2023-04-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.3390/antiox12040964; 2076-3921
• Keywords: CoQ₁₀phytosome; skeletal muscle; CoQ bioavailability; dermal fibroblasts; CoQ₁₀ plasma; Therapeutics. Pharmacology; RM1-950
• Source: Antioxidants, Vol 12, Iss 4, p 964 (2023)

Coenzyme Q₁₀ (CoQ₁₀) bioavailability in vivo is limited due to its lipophilic nature. Moreover, a large body of evidence in the literature shows that muscle CoQ₁₀ uptake is limited. In order to address cell specific differences in CoQ uptake, we compared cellular CoQ₁₀ content in cultured human dermal fibroblasts and murine skeletal muscle cells that were incubated with lipoproteins from healthy volunteers and enriched with different formulations of CoQ₁₀ following oral supplementation. Using a crossover design, eight volunteers were randomized to supplement 100 mg/daily CoQ₁₀ for two weeks, delivered both in phytosome form (UBQ) as a lecithin formulation and in CoQ₁₀ crystalline form. After supplementation, plasma was collected for CoQ₁₀ determination. In the same samples, low density lipoproteins (LDL) were extracted and normalized for CoQ₁₀ content, and 0.5 µg/mL in the medium were incubated with the two cell lines for 24 h. The results show that while both formulations were substantially equivalent in terms of plasma bioavailability in vivo, UBQ-enriched lipoproteins showed a higher bioavailability compared with crystalline CoQ₁₀-enriched ones both in human dermal fibroblasts (+103%) and in murine skeletal myoblasts (+48%). Our data suggest that phytosome carriers might provide a specific advantage in delivering CoQ₁₀ to skin and muscle tissues.