Deficiency of Coenzyme Q ₁₀ in Gingival Tissue from Patients with Periodontal Disease

Abstract

The specific activities of the succinate dehydrogenase-coenzyme Q 10 reductase in gingival tissue from patients with periodontal disease have been compared with the corresponding specific activities of normal human periodontal tissue. The gingival biopsies from patients having diseased periodontal tissue showed a deficiency of coenzyme Q 10 , in contrast to those of the normal periodontal tissue which showed no deficiency. The presence or absence of a deficiency of coenzyme Q 10 in the succinate-coenzyme Q 10 enzyme system is appraised by determining the specific activity in the absence and again in the presence of exogenous coenzyme Q 3 . An increase in specific activity of this mitochondrial enzyme system in the presence of exogenous coenzyme Q 3 reflects the mitochondrial deficiency of coenzyme Q 10 . Such increases ranged from 38-120% and averaged 81% for the individuals with periodontal disease, and were highly significant statistically. These data correlate with clinical studies in Japan that have indicated a therapeutic benefit of the administration of coenzyme Q 7 to many patients with severe and destructive periodontal disease and with the benefit of administration of hexahydrocoenzyme Q 4 to one such patient in the current work.

Effectiveness of CoQ10 Oral Supplements as an Adjunct to Scaling and Root Planing in Improving Periodontal Health

“…No adverse affects have been reported with daily dosage ranging from 600 to 1200 mg [14]. Findings from the studies of Littaru, Henson and Nakamura support that periodontal disease is frequently associated with CoQ10 deficiency [9,10,13].…”

“…Battino et al, reviewed the role of CoQ10 as an important antioxidant in free radical mediated neurodegenerative diseases [8]. Littaru and Henson have demonstrated the deficiency of CoQ10 in the gingival tissues of periodontitis subjects [9,10]. But currently there are very few interventional studies in human periodontitis to substantiate clinical therapeutic benefit of CoQ10.…”

Nourishing and health benefits of coenzyme Q₁₀

“…The gingival biopsies in patients having diseased periodontal tissue showed a deficiency of coenzyme Q 10 , in contrast to those with normal periodontal tissue who showed no deficiency (Littarru et al 1971). In some studies, CoQ 10 supplements caused faster healing and tissue repair (Inwamoto et al 1981;Hanioka et al 1994).…”

Oxidative Injury and Inflammatory Periodontal Diseases : the Challenge of Anti-Oxidants to Free Radicals and Reactive Oxygen Species

“…Evidence emerged for a CoQ deficiency in the gingiva of patients with PE, on the basis (Littarru et al, 1971) of the exogenous-CoQ-mediated stimulation of succinate dehydrogenase-CoQ (SDH) in periodontal tissues from humans with PE. But it was not clear why PE subjects had basal SDH-specific activities two-to three-fold higher than those of control subjects.…”