Many providers claim that the fully reduced ubiquinol form of Q10 improves absorption. While this may sound promising, there's no real need for this form.
Because:
1. There are significantly more scientific studies using ubiquinone than studies using ubiquinol.
2. In terms of absorption, there is no difference between ubiquinone and ubiquinol. There appears to be no immediate benefit to using ubiquinol, as the compound is converted to ubiquinone in the digestive system anyway. At least, there are no studies demonstrating increased efficacy or anything similar.
3. Ubiquinone and ubiquinol alternate between one form and the other in the body. It's important to ensure good absorption. Furthermore, the bioavailability of both forms is almost identical.
4. The International Coenzyme Q10 Association ICQA uses a preparation containing ubiquinone as its official scientific reference product.
5. Ubiquinol is more expensive to produce than ubiquinone, which is why it is also expensive for consumers and scientists.
6. Ubiquinol is highly unstable and reacts violently with atmospheric oxygen, oxidizing. After oxidation, it is not worthless; rather, it is converted back into ubiquinone. Preventing this oxidation and ensuring that coenzyme Q10 retains its reduced ubiquinol form is extremely difficult and represents an expensive and enormous technical challenge.
7. One often reads that older people, in particular, have a reduced ability to convert ubiquinone to ubiquinol and should therefore use a ubiquinol product. Even if that were true, it wouldn't solve the problem, because, as already mentioned, the body constantly converts back and forth between ubiquinone and ubiquinol. Thus, the problem would immediately recur after the first conversion of ubiquinol to ubiquinone. Since the conversion of ubiquinone to ubiquinol occurs with the help of the selenoprotein thioredoxin reductase, the reduced ability to convert ubiquinone to ubiquinol can be compensated for by taking additional selenium.