Page 18 - IMCJ April 2020

PERSECPTIVE

Coenzyme Q : A Miracle Nutrient
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Advances in Understanding

Ross Pelton, RPh, PhD, CCN

Ross Pelton, RPh, PhD, CCN, is a pharmacist, a certified production of commercial quantities of CoQ . This
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clinical nutritionist (CCN) and he is currently the Scientific enabled the initiation of the first clinical trials in which
Director for Essential Formulas. Ross “brands” himself as CoQ was used to treat patients with heart failure in
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The Natural Pharmacist and he is the author of The Japan. In 1976, CoQ was approved in Japan as a drug to
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Drug-Induced Nutrient Depletion Handbook. IMCJ treat cardiovascular disease, and it remained one of the
readers can use the following link to get a FREE copy of Ross’ top-selling cardiovascular drugs in Japan for over twenty
Quick Reference Guide to Drug-Induced Nutrient years.
Depletions: naturalpharmacist.net/dind Join Ross in the Life In the 1970s, Dr. Folkers and his colleague,
Extension Revolution. To be on Ross’ mailing list and receive Dr. Gian-Paolo Littarru of Italy published data they had
periodic updates on cutting edge health information, click on collected with tissue biopsies from 200 patients, which
the Subscribe link on his website: naturalpharmacist.net revealed that patients with heart disease and patients
undergoing heart surgery had blood and tissue
Coenzyme Q levels significantly below normal levels.
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In the past several years, there have been some In 1978, British biochemist Peter Mitchell was
important breakthroughs in understanding coenzyme awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering the
Q ’s biological effects and how to achieve maximum key role coenzyme Q plays in the electron transport
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therapeutic benefits from CoQ supplementation. chain in mitochondrial membranes, which results in the
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The purpose of this article is to provide a brief overview generation of cellular energy in the form of ATP. Folkers’
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of the history of CoQ and the role it plays in the prevention early work along with Mitchell’s Nobel prize dramatically
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and treatment of cardiovascular disease. After this brief increased scientific interest in CoQ around the world.
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introduction, I will mention newer areas of therapeutic
potential and then end by addressing the following two very Biosynthesis of CoQ
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important CoQ topics: a) the issue of crystallization and The biosynthesis of CoQ from the amino acid
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absorption and, b) the difference between ubiquinone and tyrosine is a multistage process requiring at least eight
ubiquinol, and which form is best. vitamins and several trace elements. Considering the
widespread consumption of nutrient-deficient fast foods
History and highly processed foods and the fact that nutritional
In 1957, University of Wisconsin biochemist Fred content of our commercial food supply has been steadily
Crane isolated a yellowish substance from beef hearts. He declining since the end of World War II, due to the use of
sent samples to a colleague, biochemist Dr. Karl Folkers toxic chemicals, artificial fertilizers and other destructive
who worked at the pharmaceutical company Merck, farming practices, it is easy to see why many people have
Sharpe and Dohme. in 1958, Dr. Folkers successfully nutritional deficiencies that hinder the body’s ability to
determined the chemical structure of CoQ and conducted synthesize coenzyme Q .
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some preliminary studies, which led him to believe that
CoQ had enormous potential as a cardiovascular drug. Drug-Induced Nutrient Depletions
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At the time, Merck executives were not interested in I am the author of The Drug-Induced Nutrient
developing a new cardiovascular drug. Consequently, the Depletion Handbook. In this handbook, I present peer-
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patent rights to CoQ were sold to a company in Japan. reviewed scientific studies which document that
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It took Japanese scientists about ten years to develop 11 different classes of drugs deplete coenzyme Q . The
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industrial fermentation technology that resulted in the classes of drugs that deplete CoQ are oral contraceptives,
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16 Integrative Medicine • Vol. 19, No. 2 • April 2020 Pelton—Coenzyme Q 10