REDUCED UBIQUINONE PLASMA-LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH LIVER-CIRRHOSIS ANDIN CHRONIC-ALCOHOLICS

Ubiquinone (CoQ10 coenzyme) is part of the respiratory chain in mitoch ondria, and acts as a scavenger in oxidative stress in cell membranes. Ubiquinone is mainly synthesized in the liver and partly derived from the diet; its plasma levels significantly correlate with tissue level s in experimental animals and in pathological states in man. By means of an original high-performance liquid chromatography technique, we me asured ubiquinone plasma levels in 10 healthy subjects, in 27 patients with cirrhosis and in 22 chronic alcoholics with normal liver functio n. Ubiquinone levels were markedly reduced in cirrhosis (0.25 [SD 0.21 ] mug/ml vs. 0.92 [0.381 in controls; P<0.001), without any difference between alcohol- and non-alcohol-related disease. Also, in chronic al coholics ubiquinone levels were nearly halved (0.49 [0.24]). In cirrho sis, ubiquinone plasma levels significantly correlated with cholestero l (P<0.05), and with total bilirubin levels (P<0.01). Our study highli ghts a remarkable deficiency in ubiquinone levels in patients with cir rhosis and in chronic alcoholics, to which both reduced hepatic synthe sis and nutritional defects may contribute.