Researchers wishing to determine the effects of CoQ10 supplementation on glucose homeostasis parameters, designed a study to assess the effect of CoQ10 supplementation on patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS). They conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with 60 overweight or obese and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with coronary heart disease (40-85 yrs old). They were randomized into group A (receiving 100 mg CoQ10 daily) or group B (receiving placebo) for 8 weeks. Fasting blood samples were taken at the beginning and after the 8 week intervention to quantify glucose homeostasis parameters, lipid profiles and biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress. Compared with the placebo group, CoQ10 supplementation resulted in a significant reduction in serum insulin levels, and homeostasis model of assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and homeostatic model assessment-beta (HOMA-B) cell function. The group supplemented with CoQ10 also had a significant positive trend in plasma glutathione and a significant reduction in malondialdehyde. Researchers concluded that overall, daily supplementation of 100 mg of CoQ10 among patients with MetS for 8 weeks had beneficial effects on serum insulin levels, HOMA-IR, HOMA-A and plasma TAC concentrations.
Raygan R, et al. The effects of coenzyme Q10 administration on glucose homeostasis parameters, lipid profiles, biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress in patients with metabolic syndrome. Eur J Nutr. 2016 Dec;55(8):2357-2364. Epub 2015 Sep 18.