Ubiquinol and Female Fertility

Figure 1: Ubiquinol and Female Fertility.

Female Fertility

Lifestyle factors have an important role to play in fertility and ideally women (and men) should plan for pregnancy so that the body is in the state of best possible health[1]. This includes the health of the oocytes (egg cells) and sperm cells[1].

It should be considered, however, that as we age ovarian reserve (a woman’s reproductive potential), oocyte quality and chances of successful fertilisation naturally decline[2]. If you’ve been trying to conceive for a year or more but not yet fallen pregnant you may wish to visit a General Practitioner for advice. Equally, if you are 35 years of age or older and if you have not fallen pregnant after six months of trying you may wish to seek medical advice. As you get older, the chances of falling pregnant naturally decline, so it’s important to get advice early on[3].

Why is Ubiquinol Useful?

Ubiquinol is the active and bioavailable form of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) which some of us may have heard of[4]. Other forms of CoQ10, such as ubiquinone, need to be converted to ubiquinol prior to utilisation by the body so are not as bioavailable[4]. Ubiquinol is naturally present in the body, with around 95% of plasma CoQ10 in the form of ubiquinol[4].

Ubiquinol has several important roles in female fertility for the following reasons:

• As women age oocytes become at increased risk of oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction[5][6]. Mitochondria are the ‘energy powerhouses’ of cells, including oocytes.

• In females mature oocytes (egg cells) house around 100,000 mitochondria[7] compared with about 1000-2500 mitochondria in other human cells[8].

• Ubiquinol is important in the production of the energy molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and required for 95% of cellular energy ATP production[9]. It helps to power mitochondria.

• Ubiquinol also an antioxidant and can help to attenuate oxidative stress that can occur in oocytes, especially with advanced maternal age.

Scientific Insights

A new systematic review and meta-analysis[10] with 1529 women with diminished ovarian reserve (the ability of the ovary to produce egg cells) who were receiving fertility treatment found that pre-treatment with CoQ10 improved pregnancy rate, the number of eggs retrieved and the number of optimal embryos. These findings were promising, and further research builds would be fascinating.

As shown in the Figure below research[11] using Kaneka® Ubiquinol (100mg) (the active and bioavailable form of CoQ10) alongside 300 mg eicosapentaenoic acid and 230 mg docosahexaenoic acid found that supplementation in patients with unexplained fertility:

• Significantly improved the rate of clinical pregnancies amongst those taking the supplement compared to those who did not.

• The clinical pregnancy rate was 16.7% higher in the Ubiquinol + Omega-3 group compared with the control group.

Figure 2: Ubiquinol and Omega-3 Intervention and Clinical Pregnancy Rate. Source: Data extrapolated from Ozdemir AZ et al. (2019) Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 9, 1-9.

Concluding Points

There is reported to be a global rise in female infertility amongst women aged 20 to 49 years[12]. This is likely to be underpinned by a multitude of factors, some of which include lifestyle factors and movements towards advancing maternal age. Alongside lifestyle modifications and conventional infertility treatments taking a supplement such as Ubiquinol could help to prepare the body in advance of planning for a pregnancy. Healthcare professionals may wish to monitor research findings in this growing field.

References:

1. Grieger JA (2020) Preconception diet, fertility, and later health in pregnancy. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol 32(3):227-232.

2. Vollenhoven B & Hunt S (2018) Ovarian ageing and the impact on female fertility 7:F1000 Faculty Rev-1835.

3. https://www.bupa.co.uk/health-information/womens-health/female-infertility

4. Bhagavan HN & Chopra RK (2006). Coenzyme Q10: absorption, tissue uptake, metabolism and pharmacokinetics. Free Radic Res. 40(5): 445-453.

5. Ben-Meir A et al. (2015) Coenzyme Q10 restores oocyte mitochondrial function and fertility during reproductive aging. Aging Cell 14: 887-895.

6. Brown AM & McCarthy HE (2023) The Effect of CoQ10 supplementation on ART treatment and oocyte quality in older women. Hum Fertil (Camb) 26: 1544-1552.

7. Babayev E & Seli E (2015) Oocyte mitochondrial function and reproduction. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol 27: 175-181.

8. Pizzorno J (2014) Mitochondria-Fundamental to Life and Health. Integr Med (Encinitas) 13: 8-15.

9. Martini FH (2024) Muscle tissue. In: Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology, Prentice Hall, Inc, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 12th edition.

10. Lin G et al. (2024) Clinical evidence of coenzyme Q10 pretreatment for women with diminished ovarian reserve undergoing IVF/ICSI: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of medicine Vol 56, No 1, 2389469.

11. Ozdemir AZ et al. (2019) Antioxidant Supplement Improves the Pregnancy Rate in Patients Undergoing

    in Vitro Fertilization for Unexplained Infertility. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 9, 1-9

12. Wang et al. (2024) Trends in the burden of female infertility among adults aged 20–49 years during 1990–2019: an analysis of data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 BMJ Open;14:e084755.

    
    

    This article was supported by Kaneka Ubiquinol. The content of the insight has been written independently.

    
    

    Useful weblinks:

    www.myubiquinol.com