History of CoQ10
As with many great discoveries, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) was discovered accidentally, in 1957, by Dr. Frederick Crane at the University of Wisconsin. Investigating the biochemical reactions involved in energy production, Dr. Crane was working with mitochondria isolated from beef hearts. Mitochondria are the primary site of cellular energy production. Dr. Crane noticed a mass of yellowish crystals which he believed to be important to the process of generating energy. Analysis of the compound revealed that it belonged to a family of organic compounds known to participate in energy conversion, the quinones. Also in 1957, Professor Morton of England isolated a compound from rat liver which he named ubiquinone, meaning the ubiquitous quinone. Unable to identify the exact chemical structure, Dr. Crane sent a sample to Dr. Karl Folkers at Merck, Sharpe and Dohme Laboratories in New Jersey.
In 1958, Dr. Folkers and co-workers at Merck not only determined the exact chemical structure of the compound, (2, 3-dimethoxy-5-methyl-6-decaprenyl-1, 4-benzoquinone) later named coenzyme Q10, but successfully synthesized it in the laboratory. Dr. Folkers became engrossed with the properties of coenzyme Q10 and became a pioneering researcher in the field. In 1972, he and Italian researcher, Dr. Gian Paolo Littarru documented coenzyme Q10 deficiency in cases of human heart disease.
In the mid-1970’s Japanese scientists perfected the industrial technology to produce large scale quantities of pure coenzyme Q10 by fermentation. The nutrient was now widely available for clinical studies and for therapeutic use as a drug in Japan for patients with heart disease.
In 1978, English scientist Peter Mitchell received the Nobel Prize for elucidating the necessary role of coenzyme Q10 for the production of energy, in the form of ATP, within the mitochondria of the cell. The enthusiasm for coenzyme Q10 increased in the 1980’s resulting in a tremendous boost in the number and size of clinical studies worldwide. Dr. Folkers, who is often referred to as “the father of coenzyme Q10”, was awarded the Priestley Medal of the American Chemical Society in 1986 and the National Medal of Science from President Bush in 1990 for his work on this nutrient. At about this time, the powerful antioxidant properties of coenzyme Q10 were demonstrated by Lars Ernster of Sweden.
Successful clinical studies in the 1980’s led to a gain in popularity of coenzyme Q10 in the 1990’s and its use in the health food and cosmetics industries. The timely development of methods to directly measure coenzyme Q10 in blood and tissue by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) also enhanced the ability to study a variety of diseases in clinical trials. The clinical studies have continued and are currently ongoing worldwide. Benefits from coenzyme Q10 supplementation have been demonstrated in several medical conditions including heart disease gum disease cancer and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.