Effect of coenzyme Q₁₀ supplementation in statin-treated obese rats

Statins, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, are known to cause serious muscle injuries (e.g. myopathy, myositis and rhabdomyolysis), and these adverse effects can be rescued by co-administration of coenzyme Q₁₀(CoQ₁₀) with statins. The goal of the current research is to assess the efficacy of combined treatment of CoQ₁₀ with Atorvastatin for hyperlipidemia induced by high-fat diet in SD rats. 4-week-old Sprague-Dawley male rats were fed normal diet or high-fat diet for 6 weeks. Then, rats were treated with either Statin or Statin with various dosages of CoQ₁₀ (30, 90 or 270 mg/kg/day, p.o.) for another 6 weeks. Compared to Statin onlytreatment, CoQ₁₀ supplementation significantlyreduced creatine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase levels in serum which are markers for myopathy. Moreover, CoQ₁₀ supplementation with Statin further reduced total fat, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. In contrast, the levels of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and CoQ₁₀ were increased in the CoQ₁₀ co-treated group. These results indicate that CoQ₁₀ treatment not only reduces the side effects of Statin, but also has an anti-obesity effect. Therefore an intake of supplementary CoQ₁₀is helpful for solving problem of obese metabolism, so the multiple prescription of CoQ₁₀ makes us think a possibility that can be solved in being contiguous to the obesity problem, a sort of disease of the obese metabolism.