The effect of coenzyme Q10 on serum glutathione peroxidase levels and severity of acne vulgaris

Objective: The objective of the study was to study the effect of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supplementation on serum glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels and the severity of acne vulgaris (AV). Methods: A double-blind randomized controlled trial was carried out on 36 patients with AV classified according to severity. These patients were randomly divided into two groups (treatment group = 18 patients treated with tretinoin 0.025% cream and once-daily supplementation with a CoQ10 100 mg tablet; placebo group = 18 patients treated with tretinoin 0.025% cream and a once-daily placebo tablet). Blood samples were taken from a vein and examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The study period was 8 weeks. Response to treatment was determined based on serum GSH-Px level and AV severity. The study used a pre- and post-test design for the two groups. The data were processed with SPSS for Windows version 25. Results: Administration of CoQ10 to AV significantly improved the severity of AV after 8 weeks compared to a placebo (P = 0.008). Serum GSH-Px levels after treatment with CoQ10 increase higher in the study than control group, but the statistical test result showed not significant in the study group (P = 0.3) and also control group (P = 0.07). Conclusion: CoQ10 supplementation may increase serum GSH-Px levels and improve the severity of AV, but there was no relationship between serum GSH-Px levels and the severity of AV.