PQQ
pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ). It was discovered in 1979 and found to be in certain foods, such as natto, green tea, and potatoes, which are commonly consumed by populations known to have a high incidence of longevity and robust health into old age. More recently, scientists have decided that PQQ is actually a vitamin, though there seems to not yet be a concencus over what type of vitamin it is (though many agree that it is a B vitamin because it is molecularly similar to vitamin B2 and B6).
One of the functions of PQQ in the body is that it works as an extremely potent antioxidant (up to 5,000 times more potent than vitamin C, according to researchers at the University of California – Davis). This doesn’t mean much if you don’t understand what an antioxidant is. Antioxidants are free radical scavengers, meaning they act like Pac-Man to free radicals, totally eating them up. You don’t want to have a bunch of free radicals in your body because these damage mitochondrial DNA, and damage to your mitochondrial DNA is one cause of aging. Translation: The more free radicals you have, the faster you will age. The fewer free radicals you have, the slower you will age. You can decrease the number of free radicals you have, and therefore slow down the aging process in your own body, by either eating abundant amounts of foods high in PQQ or by taking a PQQ supplement.
This is one reason why two people who are both 50 years old in chronological age can look completely different in age. One person can have “middle age spread” with a large amount of fat on the torso and lack of muscle tone in the limbs, combined with skin damage and lack of collagen in the face. This is partially caused by accumulation of a large number of free radicals on a daily basis for many years by smoking cigarettes, succumbing to stress, not eating foods rich in antioxidants, eating too many calories, not exercising at all or exercising too much, not getting adequate sleep, and many other factors including psychoemotional factors. In contrast, another person of the same chronological age can have very little accumulation of fat on the belly and torso, strong bones and musculature, and youthful skin. This is NOT caused by just “getting lucky” or having “good genes!” You can influence your own genetic expression by eating a species appropriate diet, getting adequate exercise and sleep, decreasing your exposure to toxins AND intelligently using supplements that can help you combat the ill-effects of living in a toxic world laced with nuclear radiation and genetically manipulated Monsanto crops. The best sources are parsley, green peppers, spinach, papaya, carrot, and cabbage. There are a number of foods that are high in PQQ that are found in the Japanese diet such as natto, green tea, tofu, miso, and soybeans
Special Precautions of PQQ
PQQ has been studied in humans in dosages up to 60 mg/day with no observed side effects or toxicities . With all this in mind, I think it's safe to say that the jury is still out when it comes to determining what dose of PQQ is considered optimal for overall human health.
The benefits of PQQ are
PQQ has been found to protect memory and cognition in animals and humans. It protects against neurotoxicity caused by mercury, aspartame, MSG, and other deadly neurotoxins, and works to BLOCK formation of amyloid-beta proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease. But PQQ is not just important for prevention! It actually improves memory, attention, and cognition — especially in combination with supplementation of CoQ10. There's several important functions that PQQ carries out that are vital to our health and longevity. The most important of these has to do with the growth of new mitochondria otherwise known as mitochondrial biogenesis. If you can remember way back from biology class in high school mitochondria serve as little powerhouses in all of our living cells whether they be muscle cells, fats cells, skin cells, or any other living cell in our body. Mitochondria turn the food that we eat into usable energy. They're also responsible for many other functions such as cell signaling, cellular differentiation, cell growth, and cell death. We literally could not function as living beings without our mitochondria. Because PQQ is so vital to the growth and development process it is thought to increase our durability and longevity. The more healthy and functioning mitochondria we have in our cells the healthier and longer we live.
Powerful antioxidant effects have also been shown as yet another benefit of PQQ. Antioxidants are extremely important to a person's overall health because they act to neutralize the effects of free radicals in the body as seen in this video. Free radicals can cause oxidative damage to our cells, tissues, organs, and overall system leading to a number of chronic diseases including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and more. PQQ helps keep this process in check by limiting free radical damage to our body by carrying out processes known as redox cycling reactions. In fact, PQQ may even be considered a super antioxidant because it is far more stable than most other antioxidants and can carry out more redox cycling reactions as a result of this. It's been found to be 175 times more efficient than epicatechin (antioxidant found in chocolate), 200 times more efficient than quercetin (antioxidant found in green tea & various fruits & vegetables), and 5,000 times more efficient than vitamin C.
PQQ has some profound benefits in relation to cardiovascular health as well. In a study in 2006 using animal models, PQQ was actually shown to be superior to a well known beta-blocker (metoprolol) in reducing oxidative damage after a heart attack and resulted in reduced area of cardiac tissue death and improved overall cardiac function. Another study using animal models found that PQQ "appears to act as a free radical scavenger in ischemic myocardium & is a highly effective cardioprotective agent" . While large scale studies are needed to assess the direct impact on cardiovascular health in humans it goes without saying that the data so far clearly points to beneficial affects that PQQ has on the heart.
The benefits go beyond heart health though. PQQ has been studied for it's neurological protection especially in cases following a stroke or spinal cord injury. One study showed that when PQQ was given within 3 hours of a stroke in animal models there was reduction in tissue damage due to a return of blood flow to the damaged area in the brain. Another mechanism by which PQQ provides neurological protection is by reducing the damage from a substance called inducible nitric oxide synthase (iONs) which plays a crucial role following a spinal cord injury. Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iONs) forms reactive nitrogen species and these have been shown to damage N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors. NMDA receptors are important because they allow your nerves cells to communicate to one another so that they can carry out the everyday functions of your nervous system. In addition to reducing damage due to strokes and spinal cord injuries PQQ has also been shown to help in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.
PQQ has also had a positive affect on memory function in humans. A randomized, double-blind study released in 2009 looked at the the effect of PQQ and CoQ10 supplementation over a 3 month period on 71 middle aged individuals. What they found is that memory, attention, and cognition improved in individuals supplementing with PQQ and this affect was enhanced even more when taking both PQQ and CoQ10 together.
The last benefit I'll mention is the ability of PQQ to enhance the cell growth and development of human fibroblasts. Why is this important to you? Well, I'm sure all of you females out there will like this because human fibroblasts are the cells that form connective tissue in the body. The constant regeneration of new connective tissue keeps your skin from wrinkling. So when you take in adequate amounts of PQQ you are keeping those wrinkles at bay and retaining your youthful appearance. These benefits are achieved with a dosage of 10 – 20 mg/day.
