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Ingredient intelligence

Coenzyme Q10

Antioxidant · Ubiquinone · C59H90O4

CompareExplore biology

Coenzyme Q10 is a lipid-soluble electron carrier of the mitochondrial respiratory chain and a membrane .

Mechanistic only2 curated studies, none measured in people.

Any underlined term can be tapped for an everyday-English translation.

Molecular identity

Two-dimensional chemical structure of Coenzyme Q10
Formula
C59H90O4
Molecular weight
863.3 g/mol
PubChem CID
5281915
ChEBI
CHEBI:46245
Open PubChem record →

Biological targets

  • NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase core subunit (NDUFS1)

    high confidence

    targets · complex

    UniProt P28331

Molecules & genes

Molecules

  • Ubiquinone-10C59H90O4 · 863.3 g/mol

Genes / proteins

How could this ingredient interact with biology?

Biological network

Ingredient → molecule → target → gene/protein → pathway → process → studied outcome. Relationship strength is drawn from the curated confidence tier; nothing is added to make the chain look complete.

100%
Coenzyme Q10Ubiquinone-10NADH:ubiquinone oxidoredu…NDUFS1COQ2Respiratory electron tran…Detoxification of reactiv…Cellular energy metabolismOxidative stress response

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IngredientMoleculeTargetGenePathwayProcessOutcome

1 lower-confidence relationship is hidden at this filter level. Use “Show more biology” to include them.

Text alternative for this network
  • Coenzyme Q10 is molecule Ubiquinone-10 — high confidence
  • Ubiquinone-10 targets NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase core subunit (NDUFS1) — high confidence
  • NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase core subunit (NDUFS1) encoded by NDUFS1 — high confidence
  • NDUFS1 participates in Respiratory electron transport — high confidence
  • COQ2 participates in Respiratory electron transport — medium confidence
  • NDUFS1 participates in Detoxification of reactive oxygen species — medium confidence
  • COQ2 participates in Detoxification of reactive oxygen species — medium confidence
  • Respiratory electron transport associated with Cellular energy metabolism — high confidence
  • Detoxification of reactive oxygen species associated with Cellular energy metabolism — medium confidence
  • Respiratory electron transport associated with Oxidative stress response — medium confidence
  • Detoxification of reactive oxygen species associated with Oxidative stress response — medium confidence

Biological pathways

Respiratory electron transport

high confidence

Electron shuttling between complexes I/II and III.

Reactome R-HSA-611105

Detoxification of reactive oxygen species

medium confidence

Membrane role.

Reactome R-HSA-3299685

Evidence engine

Insufficient

Not enough curated evidence to characterise this ingredient.

Skinceptor Evidence Index

20

experimental · of 100

This index is a research-navigation aid describing how much evidence exists and how it was produced. It is not a medical safety score, an efficacy guarantee, or a clinical recommendation.

Study composition

  • In-vitro1
  • Review1
Total studies
2
Human studies
0
Largest sample
Data unavailable
Range
1999–2015

Index breakdown

  • Study design quality35% × 28%

    Mean design weight across curated studies (meta-analysis 1.0, RCT 0.9, other human 0.7, review 0.45, animal 0.35, in-vitro 0.25).

  • Human evidence share0% × 22%

    Proportion of curated evidence measured in people rather than cells or animals.

  • Evidence volume50% × 14%

    Log-scaled count of curated studies, so volume alone cannot dominate the score.

  • Largest sample size0% × 12%

    Log-scaled largest reported sample size across curated human studies.

  • Replication0% × 12%

    Independent human studies, capped at three; one study is never treated as replicated.

  • Recency45% × 7%

    Linear decay over a twenty-year window from the most recent curated publication.

  • Source traceability0% × 5%

    Share of curated studies with a verified PMID or DOI in this dataset.

How is this determined? →

Insufficient comparable evidence for quantitative synthesis.

Research timeline

How the evidence accumulated

  1. 1999

    Coenzyme Q10 in the epidermis: distribution and antioxidant function

    In-vitrosample size unavailable · Free Radical Biology and Medicine

  2. 2015

    Coenzyme Q10 and mitochondrial respiratory-chain support in aged skin cells

    Reviewsample size unavailable · Biofactors (review)

Ingredient fingerprint

10 nodes · 14 relationships · seed "coenzyme-q10"

The fingerprint is a deterministic visual signature: ridge amplitude comes from the number of entities in each tier, node placement from identifier hashes, and opacity from confidence. Two ingredients can never produce the same figure unless their networks are identical.

Open in Biology as Art →

Research

2 curated studies

ReviewBiofactors (review) · 2015

Coenzyme Q10 and mitochondrial respiratory-chain support in aged skin cells

Summarises declining CoQ10 with age and reported restoration of respiratory-chain activity in supplemented cell models.

Limitations — Review of cell and supplementation studies; topical penetration uncertain; identifier not verified during curation.

Identifier not curated — search Europe PMCCoenzyme Q10
In-vitroFree Radical Biology and Medicine · 1999

Coenzyme Q10 in the epidermis: distribution and antioxidant function

Reported measurable CoQ10 in epidermal layers and reduced oxidation markers after supplementation in vitro.

Limitations — In-vitro; identifier not verified during curation.

Identifier not curated — search Europe PMCCoenzyme Q10

Community evidence

Submitted by readers

Submit a study

Reader submissions appear here only after review. They are not part of the curated dataset and do not affect the Skinceptor Evidence Index.

No approved community submissions yet.

Sources

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