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Health News Archive 345 - Inflammation
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Coenzyme Q10 and Vitamin E Reduces Inflammatory Marker 70%

A report published in the September 2004 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition revealed that a combination of the antioxidant nutrients vitamin E and coenzyme Q10 significantly reduced C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammatory status, in adult baboons. Inflammation is recognized as an early process in cardiovascular disease, arthritis, Alzheimer's and cancer.

Thirteen male and eight female baboons maintained on a low fat and cholesterol diet were subsequently provided with a diet that was high in fat and cholesterol for seven weeks. Following this period, the animals were divided into four groups, three of which were supplemented with a different amount of vitamin E, and one who received no vitamin E for two weeks. Lastly, coenzyme Q10 was added to the supplementary regimen for an additional two weeks. Blood tests were conducted with each dietary phase.

Predictably, the addition of vitamin E and coenzyme Q10 to the baboons’ diets elevated serum levels of vitamin E and CoQ10. Total antioxidant status, a measurement of the overall antioxidant capacity of blood serum, was significantly increased by vitamin E, and further increased by a slight amount with the addition of coenzyme Q10.

When C-reactive protein levels were analyzed, vitamin E was found to lower levels of the marker to an average of less than half of presupplementation levels. When coenzyme Q10 was added to vitamin E, C-reactive protein levels were reduced to 30 percent of levels measured at the beginning of the study.

In the discussion of their findings, the authors called the results “remarkable” given that the animals did not have an inflammatory condition at the time of the study. They conclude that “cosupplementation with vitamin E and coenzyme Q10 significantly enhanced both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant protection. These effects may in turn help protect against vascular diseases.”

Source: Wang XL., Rainwater DI., Mahaney MC, Stocker R. Cosupplementation with vitamin E and coenzyme Q10 reduces circulating markers of inflammation in baboons. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Sept;80(3):649-55.  http://www.ajcn.org/

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