Mitochondria and The Nutritional Role of PQQ

Pyrroloquinolone quinone - what is it and what does it do?

What is PQQ? It stands for pyrroloquinolone quinone, difficult to pronounce for sure, so just remember its acronym. What is most important to remember about PQQ is the benefit it provides for our body, particularly our mitochondria.

PQQ is found naturally in many foods, particularly certain fruits, vegetables, fermented foods, and some animal products, e.g., eggs, cow milk. Here is a short list of other foods naturally high in PQQ:

·       Banana

·       Cabbage

·       Carrot

·       Celery

·       Dark chocolate (high in cocoa, ideally 70% or higher)

·       Egg Yolk

·       Green Pepper

·       Kiwi

·       Miso

·       Orange

·       Papaya

·       Parsley

·       Spinach

·       Tomato

Various animal studies have been done showing positive and negative changes occurring in robust PQQ, and deficient PQQ diets, respectively. The many benefits to PQQ include increased cardiovascular health, improved brain and nervous system function which includes short-term memory, attention and concentration, and cognitive processing.

PQQ also has anti-inflammatory and reduction in nerve cell excitotoxicity functions and decreases activation of a cancer gene call Ras. When it comes to mitochondria, the PQQ is involved in biogenesis actions which assists in the generation of new mitochondria. This biogenesis phenomenon also occurs with consistent exercise, particularly high intensity interval training (HIIT).

PQQ is available as a supplement and has its effects enhanced with the concurrent use of CoQ10, another compound essential for mitochondrial function. A typical dosing amount of PQQ and CoQ10 is 20mg and 200mg, respectively.

There are various supplement options for PQQ. For example, Designs for Health carries a product called MitoPQQ which contains 20 mg per two capsules - https://www.designsforhealth.com/products/mito-pqq

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