Coenzyme Q 10 has two main functions in the body, one is to play an important role in the process of transforming nutrients into energy in mitochondria, and the other is to have obvious anti-lipid peroxidation effect.
Since Harman put forward the free radical theory of aging in 1956, more and more experimental data have confirmed from different aspects that the oxidative damage of free radicals to biological macromolecules is the cause of aging and various senile diseases. Antioxidants can effectively scavenge free radicals and have the effect of delaying aging.
In the early 1980s, Ernst in Sweden revealed the antioxidant and free radical scavenging effects of coenzyme Q 10, which is a vitamin-like substance. Harman expounded the relationship between mitochondrial function and aging in 1972. The role of mitochondrial aging in the aging process of the body According to the latest report, the damage degree of oxygen free radicals to mitochondrial DNA is 16 times that to nuclear DNA. The reason may be that DNA in mitochondrial matrix is more likely to contact endogenous oxygen free radicals, and the repair mechanism of DNA in mitochondria is far less than that of nuclear DNA. Therefore, it is speculated that the damage of free radicals to mitochondrial DNA subunits increases with age.
The experiment on the relationship between aging and mitochondrial coenzyme Q 10 concentration shows that the decrease of mitochondrial coenzyme Q 10 concentration is an important aspect of skeletal muscle aging. An experimental study on aging rats showed that the content of coenzyme Q 10 in heart mitochondria of aging rats decreased, and the content in liver and skeletal muscle was lower. The decline of immune function with age is the result of free radical and free radical reaction. Coenzyme Q 10 is an effective antioxidant and free radical scavenger. Coenzyme Q 10, as a part of mitochondrial respiratory chain, is embedded in lipid bimolecular of mitochondrial inner membrane. Coenzyme Q 10 obtains two electrons from mitochondrial complex I or complex II, and then it becomes alcohol, and then it transfers electrons to complex III. Coenzyme Q 10 is consumed in large quantities and converted into alcohol form. It is not only an effective antioxidant, but also an electron carrier for sports. It transfers hydrogen atoms from their hydroxyl groups to lipid peroxide free radicals, thus reducing the lipid peroxide reaction in the inner membrane of mitochondria. In this process, free radical ubiquinone which is out of proportion to the alcohol forms of coenzyme Q 10 and coenzyme Q 10 is produced, or reacts with oxygen to form peroxide. Under the action of superoxide dismutase and catalase, free radical ubiquinone transports free radicals to realize detoxification, so that the cyclic respiratory chain continuously regenerates coenzyme Q 10 into alcohol form, and its antioxidant activity is restored.
The experiment shows that coenzyme Q 10 in the body can directly react with peroxide free radicals after it becomes alcohol, and vE can be regenerated, which plays an antioxidant role alone and in cooperation with vE. In vitro experiments also found that antioxidant coenzyme Q 10 can protect mammalian cells from apoptosis induced by mitochondrial oxidative stress, but tumor necrosis factor -(TNF-) or oncogene inactivating drugs have no such effect. Clinical research shows that oral administration of coenzyme Q 10 has a significant effect on the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases related to mitochondrial dysfunction and aging, such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and Alzheimer's Harmo's disease.
Immune function declines with age, which is the result of the reaction between free radicals and free radicals. Coenzyme Q 10, as a strong antioxidant, alone or in combination with vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), can inhibit the modification of microtubule system related to immune cell differentiation and activity by free radicals, enhance immune system and delay aging.