The Role of CoQ10 in Cellular Energy Production

David Leonardi

You’ll notice that this is my only article that’s not referenced. That’s because the electron transport chain is accepted doctrine and what you’ll read below is standard biochemistry found in all good biochemistry texts and taught in all college biochemistry classes.

Bullet Points

• Our cells need energy in the form of a compound called ATP. They make ATP by “burning” sugar (glucose) or fat, extracting the energy and using it to make ATP. This describes the two pathways used to burn glucose for energy: the Krebs Cycle and the electron transport chain.

• Cells burn glucose in the Krebs Cycle to produce NADH and FADH2. The energy from burning the glucose is stored in these compounds in the form of high-energy electrons.

• These two molecules donate high-energy electrons to the electron transport chain.

• The energy from the electrons is used to pump protons (positively charged ions) all to one side of a membrane, against their electric gradient. These protons want very badly to go back across the membrane with the gradient until the charge is neutral (equal protons on each side of the membrane). So they are now the source of the stored energy that was originally extracted from the glucose.

• There is only one way back through the membrane – through a gate called ATP synthase. ATP synthase is a large complex molecule much like a machine. It contains a structure similar to that of a wind turbine that can rotate. As the protons pass through the turbine, they cause it to rotate and this rotation takes low-energy ADP (a di-phosphate) and combines it with an additional phosphate to make high-energy ATP (a tri-phosphate).

• ATP is what cells use for energy to carry out the functions that support life, including the contraction of muscle.

• The electron transport chain is highly dependent upon CoQ10 (an engineer within the chain).

• CoQ10 levels are depleted by statins up to 40% and can be replenished by supplementing CoQ10.

• That’s why CoQ10 is 1 of the 3 key ingredients of Statin Sidekick