Supplement
Mitoquinone mesylate, or MitoQ, is a form of coenzyme Q10 built to gather inside mitochondria, the cell's energy factories, where it acts as an antioxidant. Small trials found oxidative stress markers went down, including oxidized LDL in older adults, but the evidence is limited. Most studies were small, and a year-long trial in people with early Parkinson's disease found no difference from placebo.
Sources: PMID 29661838; PMID 34419082
- Updated
- How we grade
- 11 studies cited
- Best evidence
- Grade C
- Conditions studied
- 4
- Outcomes
- 6
- Graded outcomes
- 0042
Evidence by condition
- Strong
- Moderate
- Limited
- Very limited
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxidative Stress Multiple small RCTs demonstrate MitoQ reduces oxidative stress biomarkers. Rossman et al. (2018) found lower plasma oxidized LDL in 20 older adults. Broome et al. (2021) reported reduced F2-isoprostanes post-exercise in 19 cyclists. Moradbaki et al. (2025) showed improved GPx, CAT, SOD, and reduced MDA in 42 septic shock patients. Effects consistent across populations. | Improves (the measure goes down) | Moderate effect | 5 studies | 81 people | ||
Studies that measured oxidative stress
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| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vascular Function Two small RCTs found MitoQ (20 mg/day for 4-6 weeks) improved brachial artery flow-mediated dilation. Rossman et al. (2018) reported a 42% improvement in FMD in 20 healthy older adults, while Kirkman et al. (2023) showed significant FMD improvement in 18 patients with chronic kidney disease. Rossman also found reduced aortic stiffness in participants with elevated baseline levels. | Improves (the measure goes up) | Moderate effect | 4 studies | 38 people | ||
Studies that measured vascular function
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Aerobic Exercise Performance
- Aerobic Exercise Performance: improves
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aerobic Exercise Performance Two small RCTs in middle-aged men found MitoQ (20 mg/day) improved exercise performance. Broome et al. (2021) reported a 1.3% improvement in 8 km cycling time trial completion with 4.4% higher average power in 19 trained cyclists. Broome et al. (2022) found greater training-induced peak power improvements in 23 untrained men, though VO2peak gains were comparable to placebo. | Improves (the measure goes up) | Small effect | 4 studies | 42 people | ||
Studies that measured aerobic exercise performance
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General
- Parkinson's Disease Progression: improves
- Liver Enzymes (ALT/AST): improves
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parkinson's Disease Progression The largest MitoQ trial to date, a 12-month multicenter RCT (Snow et al., 2010) in 128 newly diagnosed Parkinson's disease patients, found NO difference between MitoQ and placebo on any measure of disease progression (UPDRS). This well-powered negative result suggests MitoQ does not slow PD progression. | Improves (the measure goes down) | Small effect | 3 studies | 128 people | ||
Studies that measured parkinson's disease progression
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| Liver Enzymes (ALT/AST) A Phase II RCT (Gane et al., 2010) in 30 patients with chronic hepatitis C found that MitoQ (40 or 80 mg/day for 28 days) significantly reduced serum ALT and AST levels, suggesting decreased hepatic necroinflammation. However, MitoQ did not affect HCV viral load. Single study requiring replication. | Improves (the measure goes down) | Moderate effect | 3 studies | 30 people | ||
Studies that measured liver enzymes (alt/ast)
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Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI)
- SARS-CoV-2 Infection Risk: improves
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SARS-CoV-2 Infection Risk An exploratory open-label non-randomized pilot trial (Chen et al., 2024) in 80 individuals with high-risk SARS-CoV-2 exposure found 30% infection rate with MitoQ (20 mg/day for 14 days) vs. 75% in matched controls. Supported by preclinical data (Petcherski et al., 2022, preprint) showing nanomolar antiviral potency in cell and mouse models. Non-randomized design limits conclusions. | Improves (the measure goes down) | Moderate effect | 4 studies | 80 people | ||
Studies that measured sars-cov-2 infection risk
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Key findings
- Oxidative StressImproves (the measure goes down)
- Vascular FunctionImproves (the measure goes up)
- Aerobic Exercise PerformanceImproves (the measure goes up)
Safety notes in the studies
- An exploratory open-label non-randomized pilot trial (Chen et al., 2024) in 80 individuals with high-risk SARS-CoV-2 exposure found 30% infection rate with MitoQ (20 mg/day for 14 days) vs.
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- Grade C
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Studies cited
11 studies from PubMed
- A pilot double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial of MitoQ in the treatment of septic shock
- Mitoquinone mesylate as post-exposure prophylaxis against SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans: an exploratory single center pragmatic open label non-randomized pilot clinical trial with matched controls
- Oral subchronic toxicity study and genetic toxicity evaluation of mitoquinone mesylate
- Effects of a mitochondrial-targeted ubiquinol on vascular function and exercise capacity in chronic kidney disease: a randomized controlled pilot study
- MitoQ supplementation augments acute exercise-induced increases in muscle PGC1alpha mRNA and improves training-induced increases in peak power independent of mitochondrial content and function in untrained middle-aged men
- Mitoquinone mesylate targets SARS-CoV-2 infection in preclinical models
- Mitochondria-targeted antioxidant supplementation improves 8 km time trial performance in middle-aged trained male cyclists
- Chronic Supplementation With a Mitochondrial Antioxidant (MitoQ) Improves Vascular Function in Healthy Older Adults
- The mitochondria-targeted anti-oxidant mitoquinone decreases liver damage in a phase II study of hepatitis C patients
- A double-blind, placebo-controlled study to assess the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant MitoQ as a disease-modifying therapy in Parkinson's disease
- Transport and metabolism of MitoQ10, a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant, in Caco-2 cell monolayers