• HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
Friday, February 26, 2021
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Popular antioxidant likely ineffective

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
March 6, 2015
in Health
1
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

The popular dietary supplement ubiquinone, also known as Coenzyme Q10, is widely believed to function as an antioxidant, protecting cells against damage from free radicals. But a new study by scientists at McGill University finds that ubiquinone is not a crucial antioxidant — and that consuming it is unlikely to provide any benefit.

The findings, by a team led by Professor Siegfried Hekimi in McGill’s Department of Biology, are published today (March 6) in Nature Communications.

Ubiquinone is a lipid-like substance found naturally in all cells of the body. Cells need it to produce energy from nutrients and oxygen — a function performed by tiny structures, known as mitochondria, within cells. Because it was also thought to function as an antioxidant, ubiquinone has been recommended for a variety of ills and as an anti-aging supplement; global sales of the substance are estimated to amount to hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

“Our findings show that one of the major anti-aging antioxidant supplements used by people can’t possibly act as previously believed,” Hekimi says. “Dietary supplements cost a lot of money to patients throughout the world – money that would be better spent on healthy food. What’s more, the hope for a quick fix makes people less motivated to undertake appropriate lifestyle changes.”

In order to study how energy metabolism affects aging, the McGill researchers created the first strain of mice in which scientists are able to gradually eliminate ubiquinone — and then to restore it at will to normal levels. Because of ubiquinone’s role in energy production, loss of the substance in the mice led to severe sickness and early death. But the researchers were surprised to find no signs of elevated oxidative damage to cell membranes or DNA from free radicals, the sometimes-harmful molecules created by the oxygen chemistry during metabolism. The team also determined that this unexpected lack of damage didn’t stem from deployment of some other antioxidant strategies by the animals.

At the same time, the research yielded new insights into the importance of ubiquinone in helping mitochondria produce energy. “Many patients are sick because their mitochondria don’t work properly, including because they don’t contain enough ubiquinone,” Hekimi says. “We’ll be using the results of this study to devise ways, and possibly new drugs, to boost ubiquinone levels or help residual ubiquinone to function effectively in defective mitochondria.” To that end, his research team recently received a grant from MitoCanada, a charity that seeks to help patients with mitochondrial diseases.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by McGill University.

Share12Tweet7Share2ShareShareShare1

Related Posts

IMAGE

Landmark study details sequencing of 64 full human genomes to better capture genetic diversity

February 25, 2021
IMAGE

UTEP survey reveals hidden health and wellness benefits of COVID-19 pandemic

February 25, 2021

A cat of all trades

February 25, 2021

Study: Bladder cancer is more advanced in South Texas

February 25, 2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

POPULAR NEWS

  • IMAGE

    Terahertz accelerates beyond 5G towards 6G

    637 shares
    Share 255 Tweet 159
  • People living with HIV face premature heart disease and barriers to care

    81 shares
    Share 32 Tweet 20
  • Global analysis suggests COVID-19 is seasonal

    37 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 9
  • HIV: an innovative therapeutic breakthrough to optimize the immune system

    35 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Tags

MaterialsMedicine/HealthcancerEcology/EnvironmentPublic HealthBiologyClimate ChangeGeneticsChemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesCell BiologyTechnology/Engineering/Computer ScienceInfectious/Emerging Diseases

Recent Posts

  • Lethal house lures reduce incidence of malaria in children
  • Landmark study details sequencing of 64 full human genomes to better capture genetic diversity
  • Scientists use Doppler to peer inside cells
  • Nuclear physicists on the hunt for squeezed protons
  • Contact Us

© 2019 Bioengineer.org - Biotechnology news by Science Magazine - Scienmag.

No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

© 2019 Bioengineer.org - Biotechnology news by Science Magazine - Scienmag.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In