History of coenzyme Q10

In 1957, Dr, Frederick Crane at the University of Wisconsin, USA, isolated an orange substance from the mitochondria of beef heart. It was during the experiment, when he noticed unusually yellow crystals in the lipid from mitochondria.

In the same years, Professor R.A. Morton from England provided the name coenzymes Q10 and the alternative designation ubiquinone due to its ubiquitous presence in every cell of the body.

In 1958, ‘Father of Coenzyme Q10 research’, Dr. Karl Folkers and his co-workers were able to determine the exact chemical structure and synthesis coenzyme Q10 in laboratory.

The first organized clinical trial in humans was performed by Yamamura of Osaka University, Japan in 1965, where coenzyme Q7 was given to patients with heart failure.

In 1972, Dr. Folkers and Italian researcher, Dr, Littaru, documented a coenzyme Q10 deficiency in human heart disease. Also in 1970s, researchers discovered that coenzyme Q10 had antioxidant abilities.

In 1977 Peter Mitchell receives Nobel Prize for his coenzyme research and energy transfer processes within the mitochondria of the cell.
History of coenzyme Q10