PQQ: What it is, and what it can do for you

This naturally occurring coenzyme plays important roles in creating new mitochondria and boosting brain power.

For many of us past a certain age, every year takes from us a little more of our physical health and mental faculties. We get tired faster and find it harder to focus or remember things. Fortunately, we can slow this gradual decline, not only by exercising the body and mind but also by taking in important nutrients that keep our systems running as they should. 

One of those nutrients is pyrroloquinoline quinone, or PQQ.

What is PQQ?

To explain what PQQ is, we should take a step back and define some terms necessary to take in the whole picture. Terms like:

  • Enzyme: a very small type of molecule that starts and accelerates chemical reactions in the body
  • Cofactor: a chemical compound necessary for an enzyme to do what it does
  • Oxidative stress: when your body has more unstable, harmful molecules called free radicals than it does protective molecules called antioxidants

With all that in mind, when we say that PQQ is an enzyme cofactor, you can understand that it’s an essential component for your body’s biochemistry. Specifically, your enzymes use PQQ to initiate chemical reactions against oxidative stress, which is linked to age-related physical and cognitive declines.[1] [2] PQQ’s antioxidant quality has earned it its informal classification as a “longevity vitamin” (though it’s technically not a vitamin, more just vitamin-like).[3] 

At the same time, PQQ provides key support to mitochondria, which generate most of the body’s cellular energy. It both vitalizes existing mitochondria and helps create new ones.[4] The resulting increase in cellular energy promotes healthier aging and sharper brain function.[5] [6] 

What can PQQ do for you?

Scientific research gives us at least two good reasons to want some PQQ in our lives. 

One is that its antioxidant action might help fight the signs of aging. For example, a 2024 study on mice showed that PQQ can activate a protein that may prevent an age-related degenerative spinal condition called intervertebral disk degeneration (IVDD).[7] Another recent mouse study had similar outcomes with regard to muscular atrophy, muscle inflammation, and skin aging.[8] Although these were animal studies, their findings point to PQQ’s potential to slow the rate of physical changes that accompany aging.

But if it’s human studies you want, you can look to any one of these placebo-controlled trials of PQQ’s effects on cognitive function:


Sources of PQQ

PQQ is naturally present in a lot of common foods and drinks (including some surprising ones). Here’s a nonexhaustive list:[17]

  • Fermented soybeans: 61ng per gram
  • Parsley: 34.2ng per gram
  • Green tea: 29.6ng per milliliter
  • Green pepper: 28.2ng per gram
  • Kiwis: 27.4ng per gram
  • Papayas: 26.7ng per gram
  • Tofu: 24.4ng per gram
  • Spinach: 21.9ng per gram
  • Broad beans: 17ng per gram
  • Potatoes: 16.6ng per gram
  • Sweet potatoes: 13.3ng per gram
  • Bananas: 12.6ng per gram
  • Whiskey: 7.93ng per milliliter
  • Wine: 5.79ng per milliliter

But look closely at the quantity of PQQ per measure of food or beverage. We’re dealing with nanograms, which are one-billionth of a gram. To put it in perspective: a serving of natto, the most PQQ-rich food on this list, is 50g of total food, and so it contains just around 3,050ng (0.003mg) of PQQ. You would need to eat nearly 330 servings, or approximately 36lbs, of natto before you consumed even 1mg of PQQ. That’s equal to more than 120,000 calories’ worth of pungent, slimy soybeans. All for just a fraction of the PQQ used in successful clinical studies.

Meanwhile, it takes a lot of PQQ to approach toxic levels. In rats, a toxic amount ranges from 500mg to 2,000mg per kilogram of body weight.[25] For a human who weighs around 175lbs, an equivalent dose would be 6,450mg to 25,800mg. So there’s a huge gap between unsafe doses and the feasibly attainable quantities of PQQ you can get from diet alone.

How much PQQ do you need?

Successful human studies on PQQ’s cognitive and mitochondrial effects typically have used 20mg doses, or thereabouts.[18] That’s well below potentially toxic quantities. And with dietary sources providing only trace amounts, you’re going to need a PQQ supplement to get you to the needed quantity.

Keep in mind, not all PQQ supplements provide the ideal dose. In fact, you’ll find that many brands have just 10mg of PQQ. That’s possibly effective, according to one study, but much less validated by clinical research overall.[18] When scoping the market, you’d do well to center your search on stronger formulations.

Also, you might want to see about incorporating other supplements to optimize PQQ’s best-supported health effects. We mean ingredients like ashwagandha, L-theanine, and saffron, which share PQQ’s ability to vitalize mitochondria and improve cognitive functions.[19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] 

And you don’t need to go stocking your cabinet with armsful of bottles from the health aisle, either. A single supplement, Innerbody Labs Focus Support, combines 13 well-studied cognitive-enhancing ingredients all in doses used successfully in clinical research — including 20mg PQQ, 300mg KSM-66 ashwagandha, 160mg L-theanine, and 30mg saffron. A four-capsule daily serving is all you need to reap the advantages of PQQ and other nootropics, so you can think and concentrate more keenly day-to-day.

Sources

  1. Liguori, I., et al. (2018). Oxidative stress, aging, and diseases. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 13, 757-772.
  2. Franzoni, F., et al. (2021). Oxidative stress and cognitive decline: The neuroprotective role of natural antioxidants. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 15, 729757.
  3. Zhu, W. (2020). A behind-the-scenes look at the longevity vitamin PQQ. UC Berkeley College of Chemistry.
  4. Chowanadisai, W., et al. (2009). Pyrroloquinoline quinone stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis through cAMP response element-binding protein phosphorylation and increased PGC-1α expression. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 285(1), 142-152.
  5. López-Lluch, G., Irusta, P. M., & Navas, P. (2008). Mitochondrial biogenesis and healthy aging. Experimental Gerontology, 43(9), 813-819.
  6. Picard, M., & McEwen, B. S. (2013). Mitochondria impact brain function and cognition. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(1), 7-8.
  7. Xue, Q., et al. (2024). Nrf2 activation by pyrroloquinoline quinone inhibits natural aging-related intervertebral disk degeneration in mice. Aging Cell, 23(8), e14202.
  8. Mohamad Ishak, N. S., Kikuchi, M., & Ikemoto, K. (2024). Dietary pyrroloquinoline quinone hinders aging progression in male mice and D-galactose-induced cells. Frontiers in Aging, 5, 1351860.
  9. Nakano, M., et al. (2016). Effects of antioxidant supplements (BioPQQ™) on cerebral blood flow and oxygen metabolism in the prefrontal cortex. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 923, 215-222.
  10. Jobson, D. D., et al. (2021). The role of the medial prefrontal cortex in cognition, ageing and dementia. Brain Communications, 3(3), fcab125.
  11. University of Rochester Medical Center. (2016). Study reveals brain’s finely tuned system of energy supply. University of Rochester.
  12. Hwang, P. S., et al. (2020). Effects of pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) supplementation on aerobic exercise performance and indices of mitochondrial biogenesis in untrained men. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 39(6), 547-556.
  13. Sweeney, G., & Song, J. (2016). The association between PGC-1α and Alzheimer's disease. Anatomy & Cell Biology, 49(1), 1-6.
  14. Shiojima, Y., et al. (2021). Effect of dietary pyrroloquinoline quinone disodium salt on cognitive function in healthy volunteers: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study. Journal of the American Nutrition Association, 41(8), 796-809.
  15. Baltic, S., et al. (2024). The impact of six-week dihydrogen-pyrroloquinoline quinone supplementation on mitochondrial biomarkers, brain metabolism, and cognition in elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment: A randomized controlled trial. The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging, 28(8), 100287.
  16. Bathina, S., & Das, U. N. (2015). Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its clinical implications. Archives of Medical Science, 11(6), 1164-1178.
  17. Kumazawa, T., et al. (1995). Levels of pyrroloquinoline quinone in various foods. The Biochemical Journal, 307, 331-333.
  18. Jonscher, K. R., Chowanadisai, W., & Rucker, R. B. (2021). Pyrroloquinoline quinone is more than an antioxidant: A vitamin-like accessory factor important in health and disease prevention. Biomolecules, 11(10), 1441.
  19. Lee, D. H., et al. (2020). Withania somnifera extract enhances energy expenditure via improving mitochondrial function in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. Nutrients, 2(2), 431.
  20. García-Niño, W. R., et al. (2024). L-Theanine abates oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury by positively regulating the antioxidant response. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 486, 116940.
  21. Akbari-Fakhrabadi, M., et al. (2019). Effect of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) and endurance training on mitochondrial biogenesis, endurance capacity, inflammation, antioxidant, and metabolic biomarkers in Wistar rats. Journal of Food Biochemistry, 43(8), e12946.
  22. Gopukumar, K., et al. (2021). Efficacy and safety of ashwagandha root extract on cognitive functions in healthy, stressed adults: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2021, 8254344.
  23. Baba, Y., et al. (2021). Effects of L-theanine on cognitive function in middle-aged and older subjects: A randomized placebo-controlled study. Journal of Medicinal Food, 24(4), 333-341.
  24. Cerdá-Bernad, D., et al. (2022). Saffron against neuro-cognitive disorders: An overview of its main bioactive compounds, their metabolic fate and potential mechanisms of neurological protection. Nutrients, 14(24), 5368.
  25. Yan, T., et al. (2024). Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ): Its impact on human health and potential benefits: PQQ: Human health impacts and benefits. Current Research in Food Science, 9, 100889.
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