AOR Co-Enzyme Q10 Details Powerful antioxidant Supports cardiovascular function Alleviates symptoms of congestive heart failure CoQ10 is a fat-soluble, crystalline compound with a Molecular weight of 338.44 Daltons. Co Q10 functions as a co-enzyme in the energy-producing metabolic pathways of every cell of the body with a powerful antioxidant activity. Co-enzyme Q10 (Co-Q10) is a Vitamin-like substance that is found in virtually all cells of the human body, thus earning CoQ10 its other name, ubiquinone. In 1957, Dr. Fred L Carne noticed a frothy substance that consistently rose to the top of the test tubes of meshed beef heart. This yellow crystalline substance was identified by Karl Folkers (the “father” of Co enzyme Q10) at the Merck, Sharp & Dohme laboratories in New Jersey in 1958. Dr. R.A. Morten called this Q10 compound ubiquinone because of its widespread appearance in living organisms. Unlike vitamins, which by definition are not synthesized within the body, CoQ10 is synthesized in nearly every tissue of the body. It is also, in fact, not a vitamin at all but rather a co-enzyme – an organic molecule that activates a larger protein catalyst (an enzyme) that in turn facilitates a biological reaction without extinguishing itself within that reaction. Co-enzyme Q10 has a quinone-like group (hence the Q) with 10 isoprenoid units as the side-chain (hence the 10). Quinones are molecules that serve as electron receptors in essential biological functions such as photosynthesis and respiration. CoQ10′s quinone ring is synthesized from the amino acid tyrosine whilst the isoprenoid side chains are formed from acetyl CoA (of which pantethine is also a precursor). CoQ10 is very similar in structure to Vitamin K and Vitamin E, although its role is quite different.
