Effectiveness of Coenzyme Q10 in Uncontrolled Diabetes Mellitus: A Double-blinded Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is one of the metabolic disorders of the body, marked with persistent hyperglycemia, which leads to acute complications. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a liposoluble antioxidant that might benefit in lowering blood glucose and decreasing oxidative stress in diabetic patients. This research investigates the role of CoQ10 supplementation in affecting HbA1c values in patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methodology: It was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial on 60 eligible patients diagnosed with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus. These patients were randomized to either Group Q with 100 mg of CoQ10 per day or Group C with a placebo for 3 months. Baseline data on age, body mass index (BMI), and preintervention HbA1c level were noted. The study outcome measure of interest was a change in postintervention HbA1c levels and Student’s t -test was applied to analyze. Results: Compliance was similar in both the groups, and no dropout was reported. The demographic characteristics were similar, with mean ages of 52.66 ± 10.06 years in Group Q and 53.4 ± 8.9 years in Group C ( P = 0.123). Preprocedural HbA1c levels were 8.76 ± 0.32% in Group Q and 8.67 ± 0.23% in Group C ( P = 0.44). Postintervention HbA1c values reduced to 8.59 ± 0.78% in Group Q and 8.47 ± 0.67% in Group C with the P = 0.08 and 0.09, respectively. No patient experienced serious side effects, and no changes were noted in the weight of participants in both the groups. Conclusions: CoQ10 supplementation did not significantly improve HbA1c levels after 3 months in patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus. Although CoQ10 has potential as an adjunct therapy, its efficacy in glycemic control remains questionable. Unless proven benefits are there, its not very prudent to keep the patients with a higher HbA1C for more time. Further investigations with larger samples and diverse populations are required to explore the benefits of CoQ10 in diabetes management.