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Distribution of antioxidants among blood components and lipoproteins: Significance of lipids/CoQ 10 ratio as a possible marker of increased risk for atherosclerosis
Author(s) -
Tomasetti Marco,
Alleva Renata,
Solenghi Maria Diana,
Littarru Gian Paolo
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
biofactors
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.204
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1872-8081
pISSN - 0951-6433
DOI - 10.1002/biof.5520090218
Subject(s) - chemistry , medicine , endocrinology , population , cholesterol , lipoprotein , biochemistry , environmental health
Total CoQ 10 levels were evaluated in whole blood and in plasma obtained from a group of 83 healthy donors. Extraction with light petroleum ether/methanol was more efficient, for whole blood, than the extraction which is often used for plasma and serum, i.e., ethanol hexane. An excellent correlation was present between plasma CoQ 10 and whole blood CoQ 10 . CoQ 10 is mainly associated with plasma rather than with cellular components. Positive, significant correlations were found between the LDL‐chol/CoQ 10 ratio and the total‐chol/HDL‐chol ratio, which is usually considered a risk factor for atherosclerosis. The proportion of CoQ 10 carried by LDL was 58 ± 10%, while the amount carried by HDL was 26 ± 8%. In VLDL + IDL CoQ 10 was 16 ± 8%. The content of CoQ 10 in single classes of lipoproteins is strictly correlated with CoQ 10 plasma concentration. In a parallel study conducted on a population of diabetic patients (one IDDM group and one NIDDM) CoQ 10 plasma levels were generally higher compared to the control group, also when normalised to total cholesterol. In particular the LDL fraction showed a CoQ 10 /chol ratio higher in NIDDM but not in IDDM patients, compared to controls. The CoQ 10 /triglycerides ratio was lower in NIDDM respect to controls and even lower in IDDM patients.