Toshikazu Suzuki
Wayo Women’s University, Japan
Title: Changes in blood coenzyme Q10 levels by food intervention and intake of CoQ10-fortified rice
Biography
Biography: Toshikazu Suzuki
Abstract
A non-essential nutrient, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a key element in mitochondrial energy production and antioxidant protection. Daily intake of CoQ10 is not considered in nutritional guidance or menu planning. Hospitalized older people have lower blood levels of CoQ10 with possible decreased intake of CoQ10 compared with healthy older people, suggesting that adequate intake of CoQ10 maintains wellness in older people. First we estimated daily intake of CoQ10 from food, designed a food intake guide for ingestion of increased amounts of CoQ10 with balanced food choice and evaluated the usability in a diet intervention trial. Average daily intake of CoQ10 from food was 1.9 mg/1000 kcal/day in both men and women. Ratio of dietary animal to vegetable protein was involved in the amount of CoQ10 intake. Our food intervention was effective in increasing CoQ10 intake at up to 1mg/day while maintaining PFC balance. However, choice of food items was sometimes a burden to the participants. Next, we investigated the effect of food choice and efficacy of CoQ10-fortified food on blood CoQ10 levels. Two weeks prohibition of meat/poultry consumption decreased blood CoQ10 levels by ~0.1µg/mL. Eating 300 g/day of CoQ10-fortified boiled rice (13 mg CoQ10/100g rice) could increase both intake and blood levels of CoQ10. Our results indicate that the choice of a CoQ10-fortified food may be more applicative for keeping/raising blood CoQ10 levels than food intervention. Further study of the effect of CoQ10-fortified food intake on maintaining/improving the quality of life of the older people should be pursued