antioxidant · for brain fog
PQQ
Prompts your cells to build new mitochondria — the parts that make energy.
Say that in clinical terms
Stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis via PGC-1alpha activation, enhances cognitive energy metabolism.
How strong is the research?
Solid evidence
Only one studyDifferent group studied
1 paper read, 1 supporting.
Who was studied: The cited work is cell cultures and animals. No people were studied.
How much to take
daily
10–20 mg
Often combined with CoQ10 for synergistic mitochondrial support.
Before you take it
- No NIH/IOM Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) established — PQQ is not a recognized essential nutrient with a Dietary Reference Intake; no formal UL has been set by any major regulatory body.
- EFSA (2017) concluded PQQ disodium salt (BioPQQ™) safe under intended conditions of use at up to 20 mg/day for healthy adults; NOAEL from 13-week rat studies was 100 mg/kg bw/day, yielding a margin of safety of ~344 at the proposed human dose.
- Safety not established for pregnant or lactating women — EFSA's novel food authorization explicitly excludes these populations; supplemental use should be avoided in the absence of adequate safety data.
- PQQ can interfere with glucose dehydrogenase–PQQ (GDH-PQQ)–based glucometers, producing falsely elevated blood glucose readings — a clinically relevant concern for individuals self-monitoring blood glucose with such devices.
- No well-characterized human drug–drug interactions are documented in published clinical literature; potential interactions remain largely uninvestigated.
- Long-term human safety data are limited; most clinical trials span 8–12 weeks, and no controlled study beyond 12 weeks has been identified.
What we make of it
Cell cultures and mice. No people.
The detail
The paper is a laboratory study in cell culture and mice, not a human trial, and our study-type label was wrong. The mitochondria-building mechanism it describes was demonstrated there, not in people.