Coenzyme Q10: A Key Antioxidant in the Management of Diabetes-Induced Cardiovascular Complications—An Overview of Mechanisms and Clinical Evidence

Table 1

Preclinical trials of CoQ10 in the treatment of diabetes and its cardiovascular complications.

Study	Model	Treatment (powder)	Duration	Outcomes	Reference
In vivo	STZ-induced diabetic rats	10 mg/kg/day CoQ10	1 weeks	↓FBG, atherogenic index	[30]
				↓TG, TC, LDL, VLDL
				↑HDL
				↓BP
In vivo	STZ-induced diabetic rats	10 mg/kg/day CoQ10	12 weeks	Improved LV performance and myocardial relaxation	[31]
In vivo	Alloxan-induced type 1 diabetic rats	15 mg/kg/day CoQ10	8 weeks	↓FBG, atherogenic index, cardiac risk ratio	[32]
				↓TG, TC, LDL, VLDL
				↑HDL
In vivo	Mouse model of type 1 diabetes	50 and 150 mg/kg/day	24 days	↓FBG, body weight	[33]
		CoQ10	3 days	↓Lipid peroxidation
In vivo	l-NAME-induced hypertensive rats	10 mg/kg/day CoQ10	6 weeks	↓SBP, DBP, MAP	[34]
				↓TC, LDL, MDA, TNF-α
				↑TAC
In vivo	Type 2 diabetes db/db mouse	10 mg/kg/day CoQ10	10 weeks	↓ Superoxide generation	[35]
				↓Cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis
				↓Diastolic dysfunction
In vivo	Mice diabetic cardiomyopathy	10 mg/kg, 3 times/week CoQ10	8 weeks	↓MDA	[36]
				↓Cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis
				↓Diastolic dysfunction
				↓Expression of ANP
In vivo	Hypertensive rats with fructose-fed	10 mg/kg/day CoQ10	4 weeks	↓BP	[37]
				↓ROS
				↑SOD
In vivo	STZ-induced diabetic rats	10 mg/kg/day CoQ10	2 weeks	↑CAT, GPx, GR	[38]
In vivo	Rats with myocardial infarction	Pretreated with 20 mg/kg/day CoQ10	1 weeks	↓LV infarct area	[39]
				↓TNF-α, IL-6
				↑SOD, GPx
In vivo	STZ-induced diabetic rats	10 mg/kg/day CoQ10	1 weeks	↑Erythrocyte GSH, GSH-Px activity	[40]
				↑HDL
				↓Heart tissue lipid peroxidation, FBG, TC, TG
In vivo	STZ-induced diabetic rats	10 mg/kg/day CoQ10	8 weeks	↓FBS, HbA1c, TC, TG, LDL	[41]
				↓Oxidation protein products
				↓DNA impairment
				↑NO, HDL
In vitro	High glucose-induced EPC	10 μM CoQ10	24 hours	↓ROS	[42]
				↓Caspase-3, ↑Bcl-2
				↑Mitochondrial membrane potential
				↑eNOS and HO-1 expression
In vitro	oxLDL-induced oxidative stress in HUVEC	20 μM CoQ10	24 hours	↓ROS	[22]
				↓IL-8, NF-κB, COX-2 expression
				↑CAT, SOD
				↑eNOS, ↓iNOS
				↑Bcl-2/BAX
In vitro	AngII-induced oxidative stress in HUVEC	10 μM CoQ10	24 hours	↓ROS	[23]
				↑NO, SOD, GPx
				↓NOX2, ICAM-1, VCAM-1

ANP, atrial natriuretic peptide; AngII, angiotensin II; BP, blood pressure; COX-2, cyclooxygenase-2; CAT, catalase; eNOS, endothelial nitric oxide synthase; EPC, endothelial progenitor cell; FBG, fasting blood glucose; GPx, glutathione peroxidase; GR, glutathione reductase; GSH, glutathione; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; HUVECs, human umbilical vein endothelial cells; IL-8, interleukin 8; ICAM-1, intercellular adhesion molecule 1; iNOS, inducible nitric oxide synthase; l-NAME, N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester; LV, left ventricular; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; MDA, malondialdehyde; NF-κB, nuclear factor kappa B; NOX2, NADPH oxidase 2; NO, nitric oxide; ROS, reactive oxygen species; SOD, superoxide dismutase; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor α; TAC, total antioxidant capacity; TG, triglyceride; TC, total cholesterol; VCAM-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule 1; VLDL, very low-density lipoprotein.