Table 1. Mitochondrial function.
| Placebo (n = 20) | Ubiquinone (n = 20) | Combined antioxidant therapy (n = 20) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal value | Baseline | Final | P WCX | Baseline | Final | P WCX | Baseline | Final | P WCX | P K–W | |
| Erythrocyte membrane fluidity (Ie/Im) | 0.42 ± 0.01 | 0.29 ± 0.01 | 0.26 ± 0.01 | 0.001 | 0.28 ± 0.01 | 0.34 ± 0.01 | 0.0001 | 0.30 ± 0.01 | 0.34 ± 0.01 | 0.007 | 0.0001 |
| Platelets submitochondrial membrane fluidity (Ie/Im) | 0.24 ± 0.01 | 0.14 ± 0.01 | 0.15 ± 0.01 | 0.0001 | 0.14 ± 0.01 | 0.22 ± 0.01 | 0.0001 | 0.13 ± 0.00 | 0.19 ± 0.01 | 0.0001 | 0.0001 |
| Hydrolysis of Fo/F1-ATPase (nmol PO4) | 184.50 ± 7.84 | 304.12 ± 22.83 | 405.50 ± 34.51 | 0.0001 | 312.41 ± 25.63 | 213.25 ± 14.19 | 0.001 | 371.28 ± 33.50 | 225.55 ± 14.48 | 0.0001 | 0.0001 |
Baseline fluidity of the mitochondrial membrane of erythrocytes was diminished. Afterward, fluidity significantly improved in groups treated with ubiquinone and combined therapy. Similar results were found when fluidity of the submitochondrial particles of platelets was evaluated, in both baseline and final outcomes, with a tendency to normalize in the groups treated with antioxidants. A significant increase from baseline values was found in hydrolytic activity of the FoF1-ATPase, which could indicate energy catabolism. End results showed that hydrolytic activity decreased significantly in the groups treated with antioxidants.
NS = not significant, nmol PO4 = phosphate nanomoles, Ie/Im = ratio monomer (Im)/excimer (Ie), WCX = Wilcoxon test, K–W = Kruskall–Wallis, considering final values.