Ultiboost CoQ10 150mg

CoQ10 is one of the most researched supplements on our shelves, and one of the most misunderstood. These are the questions our naturopaths ask in store: what it suits, what needs a chat first, and what rules it out.

A good fit if

• You're an adult with a straightforward health history and you don't take prescription medicines
• You want the choice of form based on the evidence rather than the packaging
• You're happy to take it with a meal that contains fat, which makes a real difference to how much you absorb
• You'd rather split a larger amount across the day than take it all at once
• You're comfortable reading the label, including the warfarin warning every product taken by mouth carries

Check with us first if

• You take warfarin. The Australian label warning tells you not to take CoQ10 while on warfarin without medical advice. CoQ10 is similar in structure to vitamin K, and in a few cases has been reported to weaken warfarin's effect, while other reports describe a higher bleeding risk with it. If the two are used together, your INR should be checked often, especially in the first two weeks.
• You take a statin. Don't stop or change a prescribed statin to take a supplement. Whether CoQ10 helps with muscle symptoms from statins is genuinely unsettled, so talk to the doctor who prescribed it.
• You're having chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Antioxidants may make these treatments less effective, and in an animal study ubiquinone appeared to reduce the effect of radiation therapy. Decide this with your cancer care team, not at the shelf.
• You take theophylline. CoQ10 slows how quickly your body clears theophylline, and the reported effects are serious.
• You take blood pressure medicines, insulin or other diabetes medicines. The effects may add up, so monitoring makes sense.
• You're pregnant or planning a pregnancy. Human safety data are limited to specific research settings, so this is a decision to make with a practitioner.
• You're buying for a child or teenager. Australia sets no children's limit for this ingredient and retail products are made for adults, so the dose is a question for a practitioner.
• You take more than about 200 mg a day. That's where stomach complaints such as nausea, heartburn and loose stools are most often reported.
• You're buying from an overseas website. Those products aren't regulated by the TGA for quality and safety, and the 300 mg Australian limit doesn't apply to them.

• Ubiquinone (ubidecarenone). Best known for: The original and most-studied form. Almost all of the older clinical literature used it. Absorption: Must be reduced to ubiquinol on the way through; a 2026 crossover measured about half the plasma exposure of a ubiquinol product at 240 mg. Typical use: The default on Australian labels, usually 50–300 mg once daily with a meal containing fat.
• Ubiquinol (ubiquinol-10). Best known for: Arriving pre-reduced, so it does not have to be converted before it can act as an antioxidant. Absorption: Roughly 2.0–2.2 times the plasma AUC and peak of a ubiquinone comparator in one 12-person crossover; a 2020 review disputes that the redox form is the reason. Typical use: Often chosen for adults over about 40 or on statins; costs more per milligram and is less stable in the capsule.
• Oil-suspension softgel. Best known for: Dissolving the CoQ10 in a carrier oil such as rice bran, soy or palm oil before it is swallowed. Absorption: The carrier lipid and the degree of crystal dispersion are described as primary determinants of uptake. Arguably more so than which redox form is used. Typical use: The most common presentation for both forms; the oil base is why softgels dominate the category.
• Dry powder tablet or hard capsule. Best known for: Lower cost, vegan-friendly options and multi-ingredient formulas where an oil fill is impractical. Absorption: Depends heavily on whether the raw CoQ10 crystals have been thermally dispersed; undispersed crystalline material absorbs poorly. Typical use: Combination products, B-complex, multivitamins, magnesium blends, and vegan single-ingredient tablets.
• Solubilised, micellar or liposomal liquids. Best known for: Engineering around the fat-solubility problem rather than relying on the meal to supply the fat. Absorption: Marketed on enhanced uptake; head-to-head human data against a well-dispersed oil softgel is thin, so treat comparative figures cautiously. Typical use: Premium liquids and sprays, and a practical option for people who cannot swallow softgels.
• Topical CoQ10 in skincare. Best known for: Cosmetic use in creams, serums and sunscreens. A different product category entirely. Absorption: Not relevant to blood levels; regulated as an excipient at up to 0.05% and not permitted in medicines intended for the eye. Typical use: Applied to skin; contributes nothing to your internal CoQ10 status.

Reference values. None. Your body makes CoQ10, so it isn't classed as an essential nutrient, and the NHMRC sets no recommended intake for it. There's no amount you need to get from food or supplements.

Typical supplemental range. Australian labels most often provide 50–300 mg a day, with 150 mg the most common single-capsule strength and 300 mg the high-strength option. Overseas, standard over-the-counter products are lower, at 30–100 mg a day. Research on inherited CoQ10 deficiency uses far higher doses, 1,200 to 3,000 mg a day in adults, but that's under medical supervision, not off the shelf.

Upper level. There's no NHMRC upper limit for CoQ10. Instead, Australia sets its own legal limit on what can be sold, and because it's a regulatory limit rather than a nutritional one, you'll find it word for word in the Australian status section below.

Worth knowing. Two simple things affect absorption more than the brand does. First, CoQ10 is fat-soluble and is best absorbed with fat in a meal, so a capsule with toast at breakfast isn't the same as one with an oily lunch. Second, your body seems to absorb only so much at once, so amounts above 100 mg are usually split into two or three doses across the day. One comparison found 2 x 100 mg raised blood levels more than a single 200 mg dose. Blood levels take one to two weeks to settle, and stop rising at very high intakes. What you need depends on your age, diet and health, so talk to one of our naturopaths.

Food first, where the diet allows it.

• Beef, fried: about 2.6 mg per 85 g (3 oz) serve: meat, poultry and fish are the richest dietary sources
• Herring, marinated: about 2.3 mg per 85 g serve; oily fish is the strongest non-meat source
• Chicken, fried: about 1.4 mg per 85 g serve
• Soybean and canola oil: about 1.3 mg and 1.0 mg per tablespoon respectively: the main plant-food contributors
• Peanuts, roasted: about 0.8 mg per 28 g (1 oz) handful
• Broccoli, boiled: about 0.5 mg per half cup; fruit, vegetables, eggs and dairy contribute only modest amounts

This list is the part of the page we will not shorten. If any of it applies to you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before starting.

• Warfarin. Mandatory Australian label warning: do not take while on warfarin therapy without medical advice. Reduced anticoagulant effect and increased bleeding risk both reported; monitor INR frequently, especially in the first two weeks.
• Statin therapy. Never stop or alter a prescribed statin to take CoQ10; evidence on statin-related muscle symptoms is conflicting.
• Chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Antioxidants may reduce treatment effectiveness; ubiquinone reduced radiation effect in an animal model. Oncology advice required.
• Theophylline. CoQ10 delays theophylline clearance; persistent vomiting, cardiac arrhythmia and intractable seizures reported.
• Antihypertensive medicines. Possible additive blood-pressure effect; monitoring advised.
• Insulin and diabetes medicines. Possible additive effect; monitoring advised.
• Pregnancy. Limited human safety data; practitioner advice required.
• Breastfeeding. Avoid; safety not established.
• Children and adolescents. No Australian paediatric limit set for this ingredient; retail products are formulated for adults.
• Doses of 200 mg a day or more. Nausea, diarrhoea, appetite suppression, heartburn and abdominal discomfort most often reported at this level.
• Hypersensitivity to CoQ10 or to any product ingredient, including carrier oils and softgel shells.
• Products bought from overseas websites. Not TGA-regulated for quality and safety, and not bound by the Australian 300 mg limit.
• Not to be included in medicines intended for use in the eye (Permissible Ingredients Determination).
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before starting.