title: Ubiquinone-10 plasma concentrations in healthy European children.
abstract: The reduced form of ubiquinone-10 (coenzyme Q) has been shown to represent an important physiologic antioxidant principle in human blood. In order to establish a reference range for infants, we measured plasma levels of ubiquinone in 50 healthy European children aged 2 months to 15 years. A mean ±SD) value of 0.75±0.27 μg/ml plasma (0.87±0.31 μM) was determined; ubiquinone concentrations were not found to be sex-dependent (0.7±0.24μg/ml for girls, n=17, and 0.7±0.28μg/ml for boys, n=33) but correlated negatively with age (r = -0.37, P=0.0075). This negative correlation was mainly due to relatively high levels in infants approximately 1 year old. The mean value determined does not significantly differ from the average ubiquinone plasma concentrations determined in healthy Nigerian children (0.85±0.40 μg/ml, n= 18) in a previous study (Becker K, Boetticher D, Leichsenring M. Internat J Vitam Nutr Res 1995, in press).
authors.affiliation: a University Children's Hospital Germany.|b Institute of Biochemistry II, University of Heidelberg , Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.affiliation: a University Children's Hospital Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Boetticher
authors.affiliation: a University Children's Hospital Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leichsenring