Formulation, characterization and pharmacokinetic studies of coenzyme Q10 PUFA’s nanoemulsions

Abstract

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is an insoluble antioxidant molecule with great biological value but exhibit poor bioavailability. To improve the bioavailability of CoQ10, we have proposed to formulate a nanoemulsion consisting of salmon oil, salmon lecithin, CoQ10 and water. A commercial oily mixture, based on soybean oil and CoQ10, was used for comparison, as well as a second oily mixture, composed of salmon lecithin, salmon oil and CoQ10. Salmon oil and salmon lecithin were used as sources of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The maximum solubility of CoQ10 in salmon oil was 81.30±0.08mg/mL at 37°C. Mean droplets size of the control and CoQ10 nanoemulsions was 164 and 167nm, respectively. The nanoemulsion was stable during 30days at 25°C. Bioavailability was evaluated as the area under the curve of CoQ10 plasma concentration in male Wistar rats following oral administration of the three formulations of CoQ10. The nanoemulsion increases at twice the bioavailability of CoQ10 than conventional oily formulations regardless the nature of used fatty acids (soybean and salmon oils). Prepared nanoemulsion represents a vectorization of both LC-PUFAs and CoQ10. That could be an interesting way to increase the absorption of these two bioactive molecules with natural low availability.