What is "mitoq"

MitoQ is a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant designed to accumulate within mitochondria in vivo in order to protect against oxidative damage. It is the first molecule specifically designed to decrease mitochondrial oxidative damage to have undergone clinical trials in humans? Mitochondria are an essential organelle within most cells that use oxygen to break down carbohydrates and fat to release energy in a form the cell can use. In doing this mitochondria release disruptive free radicals that contribute to oxidative damage in a wide range of diseases and pathologies. MitoQ is being evaluated as a therapy for some of these disorders. The molecule comprises a positively charged lipophilic cation that drives its extensive accumulation within the negatively charged mitochondria inside cells. The active antioxidant component of MitoQ is ubiquinone, which is identical to the active antioxidant in Coenzyme Q10. The lipophilic cation enables MitoQ to be accumulated selectively and extensively by mitochondria, in contrast to other antioxidants which distribute evenly throughout the cell. It is this approximately thousand-fold greater concentration of MitoQ within mitochondria that makes it more effective at preventing mitochondrial oxidative damage when compared to untargeted antioxidants such as Coenzyme Q.