A New Coenzyme Q10 Tablet-Grade Formulation (all-Q®) Is Bioequivalent to Q-Gel® and Both Have Better Bioavailability Properties than Q-SorB®

Abstract

Commercial Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10, ubiquinone) formulations are often of poor intestinal absorption. We investigated the bioavailability of DSM Nutritional Products Ltd. (Kaiseraugst, Switzerland) CoQ10 10% TG/P (all-Q®), a new tablet-grade formulation, with CoQ10 Q-Gel® Softsules® based on the Bio-Solv® technology (Tishcon Corp., Salisbury, MD; marketed by Epic4Health™, Smithtown, NY) and Q-SorB® (Nature's Bounty™, Bohemia, NY). Twelve healthy male subjects participated in a randomized, three-period crossover bioequivalence study. Plasma CoQ10 was determined from pre-dose until+36 hours. To compare bioavailability, corrected maximum concentration (C _max) and area under the curve from 0 to +14 hours [AUC_{(0-14 h)}] were assessed and tested for bioequivalence. The bioequivalence ranges of 0.8–1.25 hour × µg/mL for AUC_{(0-14 h)} and 0.75–1.33 µg/mL for C _max were applied. In summary, the kinetic profiles of all CoQ10 preparations revealed a one-peak plasma concentration–time course. Highest C _max values were seen after Q-Gel application, whereas time to C _max was nearly identical across all treatments. The AUC_{(0-14 h)} values were highest for Q-Gel, narrowly followed by all-Q. The tests for bioequivalence showed a bioequivalence between Q-Gel and all-Q, and both preparations were found to have better bioavailability properties than Q-SorB. Although all-Q and Q-Gel have equivalent bioavailability properties, all-Q can be directly used in tablets, while this is not the case for Q-Gel or other similar forms.