Distribution of antioxidants among blood components and lipoproteins: significance of lipids/CoQ10 ratio as a possible marker of increased risk for atherosclerosis.

Total CoQ10 levels were evaluated in whole blood and in plasma obtained from a group of 83 healthy donors. Extraction with light petroleum ether/methanol was more efficient, for whole blood, than the extraction which is often used for plasma and serum, i.e., ethanol hexane. An excellent correlation was present between plasma CoQ10 and whole blood CoQ10. CoQ10 is mainly associated with plasma rather than with cellular components. Positive, significant correlations were found between the LDL-chol/CoQ10 ratio and the total-chol/HDL-chol ratio, which is usually considered a risk factor for atherosclerosis. The proportion of CoQ10 carried by LDL was 58 +/- 10%, while the amount carried by HDL was 26 +/- 8%. In VLDL + IDL CoQ10 was 16 +/- 8%. The content of CoQ10 in single classes of lipoproteins is strictly correlated with CoQ10 plasma concentration. In a parallel study conducted on a population of diabetic patients (one IDDM group and one NIDDM) CoQ10 plasma levels were generally higher compared to the control group, also when normalised to total cholesterol. In particular the LDL fraction showed a CoQ10/chol ratio higher in NIDDM but not in IDDM patients, compared to controls. The CoQ10/triglycerides ratio was lower in NIDDM respect to controls and even lower in IDDM patients.