Nano-emulsion composition of coenzyme Q10

Abstract

The present invention provides a nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 comprising 5 to 20 wt. % of CoQ10, 1 to 5 wt. % of ethanol, 1 to 5 wt. % of lecithin, 20 to 30 wt. % of caprylic/capric glyceride or vegetable oil(s), 10 to 20 wt. % of glycerin, 1 to 15 wt. % of coemulsifier(s) and the balance of water. The present invention also provides a nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 comprising 5 to 20 wt. % of CoQ10, 1 to 5 wt. % of ethanol, 20 to 30 wt. % of caprylic/capric glyceride or vegetable oil(s), 1 to 25 wt. % of emulsifier(s), 10 to 20 wt. % of glycerin, and the balance of water. The nano-emulsion composition according to the present invention can preferably improve stability, in vivo penetration, absorptiveness and bioavailability of CoQ10.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a composition for solubilizing coenzyme Q10 and, more particularly, a nano-emulsion composition for improving stability and bioavailability of coenzyme Q10.

BACKGROUND ART

It is well known that the skin is the outermost organ of the human body and serves to protect the body against external threats or injuries. Ageing of the skin is a naturally occurring physiological condition, which gradually progresses along a programmed course from the time of birth. Skin ageing occurs over all layers of the skin via a complicated mechanism characterized in that oxygen free radicals (hereinafter, referred to as “OFR”) are generated by exposure of skin tissues to UV radiation or during a metabolic process, these OFRs attack lipids of cell membranes to induce oxidation thereof and the oxidized lipids destroy the cell membranes, thus resulting in skin ageing.

Demand for methods of preventing or alleviating skin aging tends to be proportional to the quality of life of a society. As one effort to satisfy such demand, studies for development of anti-ageing materials are carried out actively.

Under these circumstances, coenzyme Q10 (hereinafter, referred to as “CoQ10”) has attracted a great deal of interest as a substance with anti-ageing and/or anti-oxidation effects. Most CoQ10 is mainly found in the mitochondria, which are frequently referred to as “cellular power plants”, and is distributed widely throughout the human body. This substance serves as a strong antioxidant to protect cells from OFRs and assists activity of vitamin E to prevent skin ageing and support cardiovascular functions.

However, although CoQ10 has excellent anti-oxidative effects, CoQ10 is easily degraded due to external environmental factors such as light, heat, oxygen, etc. and is not dissolved in water, general organic solvents and oils, therefore, is used only in restricted applications.

CoQ10 is normally used in the form of a capsule or an emulsion through stabilization in a solution phase using a desired surfactant or emulsifier. However, such stabilization methods may cause coagulation of micelles and/or self-degradation of the capsule or the emulsion due to diffusion of functional ingredients in the solution so that CoQ10 cannot be sufficiently stabilized chemically or physically, thereby restricting industrial application thereof.

Therefore, a great deal of research and study to overcome the problems described above has been conducted, but a reliable or clear solution has not yet been proposed in the related art.

Accordingly, there is a strong need for development of a novel composition to stably solubilize CoQ10 and improve bioavailability of the same.

Technical Problem

The present invention is directed to solve the problems described above in regard to conventional techniques and an object of the present invention is to provide a composition for stabilizing CoQ10 and enhancing bioavailability of the same by nano-emulsification of CoQ10.

Technical Solution

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 comprising 5 to 20% by weight (hereinafter, abbrev. to “wt. %”) of CoQ10, 1 to 5 wt. % of ethanol, 1 to 5 wt. % of lecithin, 20 to 30 wt. % of caprylic/capric glyceride, 10 to 20 wt. % of glycerin, 1 to 15 wt. % of coemulsifier(s) and the balance of water.

The present invention also provides a nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 comprising 5 to 20 wt. % of CoQ10, 1 to 5 wt. % of ethanol, 1 to 5 wt. % of lecithin, 20 to 30 wt. % of vegetable oil(s), 10 to 20 wt. % of glycerin, 1 to 15 wt. % of coemulsifier(s) and the balance of water.

The present invention further provides a nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 comprising 5 to 20 wt. % of CoQ10, 1 to 5 wt. % of ethanol, 20 to 30 wt. % of caprylic/capric glyceride, 1 to 25 wt. % of emulsifier(s), 10 to 20 wt. % of glycerin and the balance of water.

Still further, the present invention provides a nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 comprising 5 to 20 wt. % of CoQ10, 1 to 5 wt. % of ethanol, 20 to 30 wt. % of vegetable oil(s), 1 to 25 wt. % of emulsifier(s), 10 to 20 wt. % of glycerin and the balance of water.

Mode of Invention

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail.

“Solubilization” means that a water-insoluble liquid or solid is dissolved in an aqueous solution containing a surfactant or the like to form a thermodynamically stable solution. In other words, solubilization is a process to dissolve a material in a given solvent to form a solution. If the material cannot be solubilized, the material is considered insoluble in the given solvent. During solubilization, the original chemo-physical properties of the material are unchanged. Substances with low solubility in a given solvent can be dissolved in the solvent using a proper additive, which is referred to as a solubilizer.

It is known that solubilization may be affected by certain factors, which include effects due to a chemical structure of the solubilizer such as a length of alkyl groups, types and locations of functional groups, ion effects, a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance and the like, or other effects caused by, for example, solubilizates, temperature, additives, etc.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 to solubilize CoQ10, which comprises 5 to 20 wt. % of CoQ10, 1 to 5 wt. % of ethanol, 20 to 30 wt. % of caprylic/capric glyceride or vegetable oil(s), 1 to 25 wt. % of emulsifier(s), 10 to 20 wt. % of glycerin and the balance of water.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 to solubilize CoQ10, which comprises 5 to 20 wt. % of CoQ10, 1 to 5 wt. % of ethanol, 1 to 5 wt. % of lecithin, 20 to 30 wt. % of caprylic/capric glyceride or vegetable oil(s), 10 to 20 wt. % of glycerin, 1 to 15 wt. % of coemulsifier(s) and the balance of water.

The present inventive composition can be take the form of a nano-emulsion, which typically includes an inner phase of oil and an outer phase of water so as to capture at least one oil and at least one physiologically active ingredient having low solubility in water. The present invention uses CoQ10 as the active ingredient with low solubility in water, and caprylic/capric glyceride or vegetable oil(s) as the oil captured in the nano-emulsion.

Such vegetable oil(s) preferably includes at least one selected from a group consisting of jojoba oil, macadamia nut oil, sunflower seed oil, olive oil, camellia oil, castor oil and vegetable squalane.

An amount of the active ingredient, that is, CoQ10 used in the present invention preferably ranges from 5 to 20 wt % in view of solubility and precipitation phenomena. If the amount exceeds 20 wt. %, it may occur precipitation of CoQ10. Conversely, less than 5 wt. % of CoQ10 is not enough to ensure beneficial effects thereof.

The caprylic/capric glyceride or the vegetable oil(s) serves as an oil to promote or accelerate penetration or absorption of CoQ10 when the composition is used for beverages or pharmaceutical formulations for oral administration.

The present inventive composition preferably includes the caprylic/capric glyceride or the vegetable oil(s) in an amount ranging from 20 to 30 wt. %. If the amount is less than 20 wt. %, CoQ10 is slightly dissolved or precipitated if the composition is exposed to air for a long time.

The composition of the present invention also includes ethanol as a solubilization additive to dissolve CoQ10, an amount of which preferably ranges from 1 to 5 wt. % to prevent precipitation of CoQ10.

The composition of the present invention additionally includes glycerin, which enables dissolution of a larger amount of insoluble (or slightly soluble) substances even with a relatively small amount of emulsifier.

The present invention may adopt lecithin and coemulsifier(s) in combination or the emulsifier(s) alone.

The present invention preferably uses 1 to 5 wt. % of lecithin which is an amphiphilic emulsifier to improve emulsification stability and accelerate penetration of CoQ10 when administered to a human.

The present invention preferably uses 1 to 15 wt. % of the coemulsifier(s) to further increase stability of the nano-emulsion.

Such emulsifier(s) or coemulsifier(s) contained in the present inventive composition preferably includes at least one selected from a group consisting of Polysorbate 20(polyoxyethylene 20 sorbitan monolaurate); Polysorbate 80(polyoxyethylene 20 sorbitan monooleate); anionic amino acid based emulsifier(s); polyglycerin fatty acid ester; glycerin fatty acid ester; propyleneglycol fatty acid ester; sugar esters; cholesterol; and sodium lauryl sulfate.

The anionic amino acid based emulsifier(s) preferably includes at least one selected from a group consisting of: TEA cocoyl glutamate; sodium glutamate; sodium cocoyl glutamate; magnesium cocoyl glutamate; and sodium lauroyl glutamate.

With regard to the nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 of the present invention, it is expected that the ranges of constitutional compositions defined above will be preferable. More preferably, the present inventive composition has a specified viscosity ranging from 1.0 to 15 cPs(centipoises) in relation to ethanol and the emulsifier(s) contained in the composition.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS

The composition of the present invention exhibits excellent solubility in water and excellent in vivo penetration performance. As illustrated in the following experimental examples, an amount of CoQ10 is consistently maintained without precipitation thereof at room temperature (that is, 1 to 30° C.) and at higher temperatures (i.e., 45° C.)

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the related art in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a procedure of preparing a plasma sample for HPLC assay of CoQ10 according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plasma concentration-time curve after a single-dose IV administration of 6 mg/kg nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 according to examples of the present invention in rats;

FIG. 3 is a plasma concentration-time curve after multiple-dose oral administration of 60 mg/kg nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 according to examples of the present invention in rats; and

FIG. 4 is a plasma concentration-time curve after multiple-dose oral administration of 60 mg/kg CoQ10 powder formulation, as a control, in rats.

BEST MODE

The present invention will be better understood from the following examples. These examples are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLES

Example 1

Preparation of a Nano-Emulsion Composition of CoQ10

A nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 was prepared by using the following components according to the following procedure: CoQ10 and, optionally, lecithin were dissolved in caprylic/capric glyceride (or vegetable oil(s)) and ethanol. After water, glycerine and coemulsifier(s)(or emulsifier(s)) were added to the above solution under sufficient agitation, the resulting mixture was continuously passed five (5) times through a high pressure microfine emulsification machine at 1,000 bar, followed by sterile filtration of the mixture to produce a nano-emulsion composition. This composition was subjected to dispensing and packaging processes to produce a final product.

CoQ10                     5-20 wt. %
caprylic/capric glyceride 20-30 wt. %
ethanol                   1-5 wt. %
lecithin                  1-5 wt. %
glycerin                  10-20 wt. %
cholesterol               1-5 wt. %
water                     The balance to make
                          a total of 100 wt. %

Example 2

Preparation of a Nano-Emulsion Composition of CoQ10

A nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 was prepared by the same procedure as described in Example 1 except that the following constitutional composition for ingredients of the nano-emulsion composition was applied.

CoQ10	5-20	wt. %
caprylic/capric glyceride	20-30	wt. %
ethanol	1-5	wt. %
lecithin	1-5	wt. %
glycerin	10-20	wt. %
cholesterol	1-5	wt. %
polysorbate 20	1-6	wt. %
(polyoxyethylene 20 sorbitan
monolaurate)
water	The balance to make a total of 100	wt. %

Example 3

Preparation of a Nano-Emulsion Composition of CoQ10

A nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 was prepared by the same procedure as described in Example 1 except that the following constitutional composition for ingredients of the nano-emulsion composition was applied.

CoQ10	5-20	wt. %
caprylic/capric glyceride	20-30	wt. %
ethanol	1-5	wt. %
lecithin	1-5	wt. %
glycerin	10-20	wt. %
cholesterol	1-5	wt. %
anionic amino acid based	1-6	wt. %
emulsifier
(sodium glutamate,
magnesium cocoyl glutamate)
water	The balance to make a total of 100	wt. %

Example 4

Preparation of a Nano-Emulsion Composition of CoQ10

A nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 was prepared by the same procedure as described in Example 1 except that the following constitutional composition for ingredients of the nano-emulsion composition was applied.

CoQ10	5-20	wt. %
caprylic/capric glyceride	20-30	wt. %
ethanol	1-5	wt. %
lecithin	1-5	wt. %
glycerin	10-20	wt. %
cholesterol	1-5	wt. %
sugar esters	1-6	wt. %
water	The balance to make a total of 100	wt. %

Example 5

Preparation of a Nano-Emulsion Composition of CoQ10

A nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 was prepared by the same procedure as described in Example 1 except that the following constitutional composition for ingredients of the nano-emulsion composition was applied.

CoQ10	5-20	wt. %
caprylic/capric glyceride	20-30	wt. %
ethanol	1-5	wt. %
lecithin	1-5	wt. %
glycerin	10-20	wt. %
cholesterol	1-5	wt. %
sodium lauryl sulfate	1-6	wt. %
water	The balance to make a total of 100	wt. %

Example 6

Preparation of a Nano-Emulsion Composition of CoQ10

A nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 was prepared by the same procedure as described in Example 1 except that the following constitutional composition for ingredients of the nano-emulsion composition was applied.

CoQ10	5-20	wt. %
caprylic/capric glyceride	20-30	wt. %
ethanol	1-5	wt. %
lecithin	1-5	wt. %
glycerin	10-20	wt. %
polysorbate 80)	1-6	wt. %
(polyoxyethylene 20 sorbitan
monooleate)
water	The balance to make a total of 100	wt. %

Example 7

Preparation of a Nano-Emulsion Composition of CoQ10

A nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 was prepared by the same procedure as described in Example 1 except that the following constitutional composition for ingredients of the nano-emulsion composition was applied.

CoQ10	5-20	wt. %
caprylic/capric glyceride	20-30	wt. %
ethanol	1-5	wt. %
glycerin	10-20	wt. %
sugar esters	1-6	wt. %
TEA cocoyl glutamate	1-6	wt. %
water	The balance to make a total of 100	wt. %

Example 8

Preparation of a Nano-Emulsion Composition of CoQ10

A nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 was prepared by the same procedure as described in Example 1 except that the following constitutional composition for ingredients of the nano-emulsion composition was applied.

CoQ10	5-20	wt. %
macadamia nut oil	20-30	wt. %
ethanol	1-5	wt. %
lecithin	1-5	wt. %
glycerin	10-20	wt. %
polysorbate 80	1-6	wt. %
(polyoxyethylene 20 sorbitan
monooleate)
water	The balance to make a total of 100	wt. %

Example 9

Preparation of a Nano-Emulsion Composition of CoQ10

A nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 was prepared by the same procedure as described in Example 1 except that the following constitutional composition for ingredients of the nano-emulsion composition was applied.

CoQ10	5-20	wt. %
olive oil	20-30	wt. %
ethanol	1-5	wt. %
glycerin	10-20	wt. %
glycerin fatty acid ester	1-6	wt. %
sodium lauryl sulfate	1-6	wt. %
water	The balance to make a total of 100	wt. %

Example 10

Preparation of a Nano-Emulsion Composition of CoQ10

A nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 was prepared by the same procedure as described in Example 1 except that the following constitutional composition for ingredients of the nano-emulsion composition was applied.

CoQ10	5-20	wt. %
jojoba oil	20-30	wt. %
ethanol	1-5	wt. %
glycerin	10-20	wt. %
polyglycerin fatty acid ester	1-6	wt. %
sodium lauryl sulfate	1-6	wt. %
water	The balance to make a total of 100	wt. %

Example 11

Preparation of a Nano-Emulsion Composition of CoQ10

A nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 was prepared by the same procedure as described in Example 1 except that the following constitutional composition for ingredients of the nano-emulsion composition was applied.

CoQ10	5-20	wt. %
sunflower seed oil	20-30	wt. %
ethanol	1-5	wt. %
glycerin	10-20	wt. %
propyleneglycol fatty acid	1-9	wt. %
ester
sodium lauryl sulfate	1-3	wt. %
water	The balance to make a total of 100	wt. %

Experimental Example 1

Observation of Characteristics of CoQ10

The compositions produced in Examples 1 to 11 were observed for phase separation, precipitation, stability and discoloration.

The prepared composition was subjected to visual inspection to determine whether there phase separation and/or the precipitation had occurred while, in order to determine stability, each of a number of samples of the compositions was stored at room temperature and in a thermostat of 45 C, respectively, to measure variation in concentration of CoQ10 in the sample. The results are shown in Table 1 below.

	TABLE 1
	Stability (the content of CoQ10, %)
		higher
	room temperature	temperature (45° C.)
			The			The
	phase		first	After 1	After 2	first	After 1	After 2
	separation	precipitation	stage	year	years	stage	year	years
Example 1	good	Good	100	100	100	100	100	100
Example 2	good	Good	100	100	100	100	100	100
Example 3	good	Good	100	100	100	100	100	100
Example 4	good	Good	100	100	100	100	100	100
Example 5	good	Good	100	100	100	100	100	100
Example 6	good	Good	100	100	100	100	100	100
Example 7	good	Good	100	100	100	100	100	100
Example 8	good	Good	100	100	100	100	100	100
Example 9	good	Good	100	100	100	100	100	100
Example	good	Good	100	100	100	100	100	100
10
Example	good	Good	100	100	100	100	100	100
11

While the compositions prepared in Examples 1 to 11 were stored at room temperature and a higher temperature such as 45 C, respectively for 2 years, each was subjected to monitoring of discoloration. As a result, it was demonstrated that all of the compositions exhibited essentially no color change.

Experimental Example 2

Pharmacokinetic Studies

In order to evaluate absorption ability of a nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 according to the present invention, plasma concentration results obtained after IV or oral administration of the composition were subjected to pharmacokinetic analysis.

(1) Materials

A CoQ10 sample was obtained from the nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 prepared in Example 1 and a CoQ10 powder formulation commercially available from Young-jin Pharm. Co., Ltd. was used as a control.

CoQ9 used as an internal reference material was purchased from Sigma Co. All other reagents used were HPLC grade or guaranteed-reagent (G.R.) grade. In this example, diethyl ether (Tedia Co., INC.), ACN and methanol (Fisher Scientific Co., Ltd.), and heparin (Upjohn., No. 268-5) of G.R. grade were also used.

An experiment was performed using various instruments including: an HPLC set (Jasco Co.: Model PU-980 pump, a LC-Net II control borwin integrator, a AS-950-10 autoinjector); a UV/VIS detector (Jasco Co.); a pH meter (DMS DP-800); a refrigerated centrifuge (Hitachi Co., Ltd., himac CR 15D); a desktop centrifuge (Beckman Industries Fullerton CA); a deep freezer (Scientemp Co., Ltd.); an ultrasonic cleaner (Mettler Electronics Co., Ltd.); a mechanical stirrer (Eurostar, IKA-Labortechnik Co.), a homogenizer (Ultra-Turrax T25, IKA-Labortechnik Co.), a centrifuge (GS-6KR Centrifuge) and the like.

Male Sprague Dawley® rats weighing 200 to 300 g were purchased from Samtaco (Ansung, Kyunggi-do, KOREA) as experimental animals. Each of the animals was placed in an empty cage under a specific environmental condition, in particular, at 23±2° C. with a relative humidity of 50±10%, a lighting cycle of 12 hr light/12 hr dark, ventilation ranging from 10 to 15 times/hr and an illumination intensity ranging from 150 to 300 Lux. The rats were given free access to feed (Samyang Oil & Feed Corp., Wonjoo, Kangwon-do, KOREA) and pure water through a filter and, after an acclimation period of about 1 week, used in the experiment.

(2) Establishment of Conditions for HPLC Analysis

In the experiment of the present invention, optimal conditions for HPLC analysis were established by performing a preliminary test and examinations described below, although HPLC analysis conditions for CoQ10 from biological samples have been reported. Various HPLC columns were examined with C-8 and C-18 reversed-phase HPLC. As a result, a Luna C18 column with dimensions of 4.6 mm×250 mm and a thickness of 5 μm was adopted because its analysis condition was excellent. A mobile phase solvent used in the column was a mixture of methanol, ethanol and 2-propanol in a relative ratio by volume of 55:20:25 (v/v %) as the optimal condition of the solvent, which was defined by regulating contents of individual solvents. A flow rate of the mobile phase was 1.0 mL/min. A UV detector was set to 275 nm at which maximum absorption peaks are indicated. After investigation of several compounds having similar structures, CoQ9 with excellent degree of separation was adopted as the internal reference material. As a result of studying and examining various types of solvents, 1-propanol with an excellent extraction ratio and superior reproducibility was determined as an extraction solvent to extract CoQ10 from the biological samples.

From results of HPLC analysis for plasma samples treated according to the procedure described in Experimental Method, a calibration curve for each of the samples is derived from the following equation:y=0.3034±0.00301(R²=0.9999)

The calibration curve was favorably linear within a range of 0.05 to 10 ug/mL and both within-day and between-day precision and accuracy were within 15%.

Accordingly, it is understood that this HPLC analysis for CoQ10 of the present invention has favorable features such as sufficient sensitivity, specificity, linearity, precision and accuracy for application to the following experiments.

(3) In vivo Pharmacokinetic Experiment after IV Administration and oral Administration

In order to assess an absorption rate (bioavailability) of the nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 of the present invention, a single IV injection and oral administrations for 5 consecutive days were conducted. A commercially available powder formulation was used as a control to compare its absorption rate to that of the present composition. The pharmacokinetic analysis for concentration results in plasma derived a final conclusion. In vivo CoQ10 concentration was measured using HPLC analysis.

1) Plasma Sampling after IV Administration

After lightly anesthetizing a number of rats with ether, polyethylene tubes PE-50 (Intramedic, Clay Adams, U.S.A) were inserted into a left femoral artery and a vein of each rat. When the rats recovered from the anesthesia, each of the nano-emulsion composition and the CoQ10 powder formulation (the control) was administered through the vein in an amount of 6 mg/kg. Then, blood samples were taken from the left femoral artery at 0 (blank), 1, 5, 10, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 180 minutes. By centrifuging 2500 of the collected blood in a microfuge tube, 100 μl of the plasma was obtained and used for determination of CoQ10 concentration in plasma.

2) Plasma Sampling after Oral Administration

After oral administration of each of the present composition and CoQ10 powder formulation in an amount of 60 mg/kg for 4 days, each rat was lightly anesthetized with ether immediately before the administration at day 5. A polyethylene tube PE-50 (Intramedic, Clay Adams, U.S.A) was inserted into a left femoral artery of each rat. When the rat recovered from the anesthesia, each of the nano-emulsion composition and the CoQ10 powder formulation was orally administered in an amount of 60 mg/kg. Then, blood samples were taken from the left femoral artery at 0 (blank), 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 18, 24 and 48 hours. By centrifuging 250 μl of the collected blood in a microfuge tube, 100 μl of the plasma was obtained and used for determination of CoQ10 concentration in plasma.

3) Determination of CoQ10 Concentration in Plasma

For CoQ10, a calibration curve with a favorable linear relation (R=0.999) within a range of 0.05 μg/mL to 10 μg/mL was made.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a procedure of preparing a plasma sample for HPLC assay of CoQ10 according to the present invention.

With regard to treatment of the samples, after adding 10 μL of 50 μM CoQ9 as an internal reference material and 1 ml of 1-propanol to 0.1 ml of the plasma sample, the mixture was subjected to extraction and sufficient admixing of the extracted material under vortex for 20 minutes, followed by centrifugation at 12,000 rpm for 10 minutes.

A supernatant was completely collected, transferred to an alternative micro tube to evaporate N₂ gas, and dissolved again in 100 μl of 1-propanol. From the resulting solution, 100 μL was sampled to determine CoQ10 concentration in plasma by HPLC analysis.

(4) Pharmacokinetic Analysis of Drug Concentration Change in Plasma

1) Estimation of Pharmacokinetic Parameters after IV Administration

Pharmacokinetic analysis was performed on plasma concentration-time data obtained after IV administration based on a linear 2-compartment model as follows:

Wherein X₁ and X₂ are amounts of drug in μg/ml in the circulatory system and peripheral compartments, respectively, V_d1 and V_d2 are volumes of distribution in ml/kg, and k₁₂, k₂₁ and k_e1 are rate constants between the compartments in min⁻¹.

For the drug in each of the compartments, its mass balance can be obtained via the following equation:

$\begin{array}{cc}\left[\mathrm{Formula}1\right]& \\ \frac{d{X}_1}{dt}=-\left(k_{e1}+k_{12}\right)X_1+k_{21}{X}_2& \left(1\right)\\ \left[\mathrm{Formula}2\right]& \\ \frac{d{X}_2}{dt}=k_{21}{X}_1-k_{21}{X}_2& \left(2\right)\end{array}$

Solving the above equation for X₁ and dividing both sides of the equation by V_d1, a blood drug concentration C can be obtained via the following equation:[Formula 3]C=Ae^−αt+Be^−βt   (3)

The plasma concentration-time data obtained after IV administration were fitted to the

Formula 3 by a non-linear least square method to estimate some of the above parameters. Other kinetic parameters were determined by the following equations 4 to 8:

$\begin{array}{cc}{k}_{21}=\left(A\beta +B\alpha \right)/\left(A+B\right)& \left[\mathrm{Formula}4\right]\\ k_{e1}=\frac{\mathrm{\alpha \beta }}{k_{21}}& \left[\mathrm{Formula}5\right]\\ k_{12}=\left(\alpha +\beta \right)-\left(k_{21}+k_{e1}\right)& \left[\mathrm{Formula}6\right]\\ t_{1/2\left(\alpha \right)}=\frac{0.693}{\alpha }& \left[\mathrm{Formula}7\right]\\ t_{1/2\left(\beta \right)}=\frac{0.693}{\beta }& \left[\mathrm{Formula}8\right]\end{array}$

2) Estimation of Pharmacokinetic Parameters after Oral Administration

Pharmacokinetic analysis was performed on plasma concentration-time data obtained after oral administration based on a linear 1-compartment model which shows that the drug is absorbed at a first-order absorption rate from an absorption site as follows:

Wherein X_a is an amount of drug in mg/kg at the absorption site, X is an amount of drug in mg/kg in a compartment in the body, V_d is a volume of distribution in ml/kg, k_a is an absorption rate constant in min⁻¹, k_e1 is an elimination rate constant in min⁻¹, and F is an absorption rate, respectively.

For the drug in each of the compartments, its mass balance can be obtained by the following equation:

$\begin{array}{cc}\frac{d{X}_a}{dt}=-k_a·X_a& \left[\mathrm{Formula}9\right]\\ \frac{dX}{dt}=k_a·X_a-k_{e1}·X& \left[\mathrm{Formula}10\right]\end{array}$

Solving the above equation for X and dividing both sides of the equation by V_d, a blood drug concentration C can be obtained by the following equation:

$\begin{array}{cc}C=\frac{k_a·F·D}{\mathrm{Vd}\left(k_a-k_{e1}\right)}\left(e^{-\mathrm{ke}1·t}+e^{-\mathrm{ka}·t}\right)& \left[\mathrm{Formula}11\right]\end{array}$

The plasma concentration-time data obtained after oral administration were fitted to the Formula 11 by a non-linear least square method to estimate the parameters k_a and k_e1. Other kinetic parameters were determined by the following equations:

$\begin{array}{cc}{t}_{1/2}=\frac{0.693}{k_{e1}}& \left[\mathrm{Formula}12\right]\end{array}$

3) Noncompartmental Analysis

With regard to estimation of certain parameters such as an area under a blood drug concentration curve AUC or AUMC, if a compartment model is presumed and set before the estimation, there may be significant differences between preset values by the compartment model and the estimated parameters. Therefore, the plasma concentration-time data obtained after IV and/or oral administration was used to determine the parameters by a noncompartmental method as follows:

$\begin{array}{cc}{\mathrm{AUC}}_t={\int }_0^{T}Cdt& \left[\mathrm{Formula}13\right]\\ \mathrm{AUC}={\int }_0^{T}Cdt+C_T/k& \left[\mathrm{Formula}14\right]\\ \mathrm{AUMC}={\int }_0^{\infty }t·Cdt& \left[\mathrm{Formula}15\right]\\ \mathrm{MRT}=\frac{\mathrm{AUMC}}{\mathrm{AUC}}& \left[\mathrm{Formula}16\right]\\ \mathrm{CLt}=\frac{F·\mathrm{DOSE}}{\mathrm{AUC}}& \left[\mathrm{Formula}17\right]\\ \mathrm{Vdss}=\mathrm{CLt}·\mathrm{MRT}& \left[\mathrm{Formula}18\right]\end{array}$

Wherein an area under a blood drug concentration curve till the last blood sampling time AUC_t was calculated by a trapezoidal formula, areas under a blood drug concentration curve from zero to infinity for AUC and AUMC were calculated using a combination of extrapolation and the trapezoidal formula. MRT represents mean residence time, CL_t represents systemic clearance and V_dss represents steady-state volume of distribution.

(5) Results

1) CoQ10 Concentration Pattern in Plasma after IV Administration

The nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 according to examples of the present invention was administered IV to each of three rats in a single dose of 6 mg/kg, and the resulting plasma concentration-time data and Mean±S.E. of the results are presented in Tables 2 and 3, respectively. The pharmacokinetic parameters for the plasma concentration-time date and Mean±S.E. of the parameters are presented in Tables 4 and 5, respectively. FIG. 2 is a plasma concentration-time curve after a single-dose IV administration of 6 mg/kg nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 according to examples of the present invention in rats.

From FIG. 2 and Tables 2 and 3, it was observed that the plasma concentration following IV administration of CoQ10 rapidly decreased at from zero to 60 minutes, followed by gradual reduction. A half life t_1/2,α at a phase before distribution “α phase” and another half life t_1/2,β at a phase after distribution “β phase” were 3.3 min and 52 min, respectively (se Tables 4 and 5).

TABLE 2
Time (min)	No. 1	No. 2	No. 3	Mean	S.E.	C.V. (%)
1	323	277	272	291	19.7	6.76
5	167	128	135	144	14.8	10.2
10	78.3	74.7	51.4	68.1	10.3	15.1
15	46.4	24.4	47.8	39.6	9.26	23.3
30	24.2	25.7	28.2	26.1	1.44	5.54
60	13.1	11.6	—	12.4	0.782	6.31
90	7.51	6.99	7.77	7.42	0.279	3.75
120	5.57	4.58	4.85	5.00	0.362	7.23
180	3.96	3.13	5.32	4.14	0.780	18.8
240	N.D.a)	2.13	3.17	2.65	0.517	19.4
360	N.D.	1.71	2.30	2.01	0.299	14.9
*N.D.: Not Detected (below the Quantitation).

TABLE 3
           Plasma concentration
Time (min) (μg/ml)
1          291.05 ± 19.702
5          144.02 ± 14.823
10         68.17 ± 10.332
15         39.61 ± 9.268
30         26.09 ± 1.447
60         12.41 ± 0.782
90         7.43 ± 0.279
120        5.00 ± 0.362
180        4.14 ± 0.780
240        2.65 ± 0.517
360        2.00 ± 0.299

TABLE 4
Parameter	No. 1	No. 2	No. 3	Mean	S.E.	C.V. (%)
A (μg/ml)	353	316	301	324	18.9	5.84
B (μg/ml)	32.3	22.6	40.8	31.9	6.41	20.1
α (min−1)	0.191	0.210	0.245	0.215	0.0193	8.98
β (min−1)	0.0143	0.0111	0.0154	0.0136	0.00156	11.4
K12 (min−1)	0.0830	0.101	0.130	0.104	0.0168	16.1
K21 (min−1)	0.0291	0.0244	0.0428	0.0321	0.00673	20.9
Kel (min−1)	0.0938	0.0956	0.0881	0.0925	0.00277	2.99
t1/2α (min)	3.62	3.30	2.83	3.25	0.283	8.71
t1/2β (min)	48.5	62.3	45.1	51.9	6.44	12.3
AUC (μg · min ml−1)	4340	3960	4830	4380	308	7.03
MRT (min)	49.5	78.3	127	84.9	27.7	32.6
Vdss (ml/kg)	68.3	119	158	115	31.7	27.6
CLt (ml/min)	1.38	1.51	1.24	1.39	0.0962	6.98
*N.D.: Not Detected (below the Quantitation).

TABLE 5
Parameter           Dose
A (μg/ml)           323 ± 18.9
B (μg/ml)           31.9 ± 6.41
α (min−1)           0.215 ± 0.0193
β (min−1)           0.0135 ± 0.00155
K12 (min−1)         0.104 ± 0.0167
K21 (min−1)         0.0321 ± 0.00673
Kel (min−1)         0.0925 ± 0.00277
t1/2α (min)         3.250 ± 0.283
t1/2β (min)         51.9 ± 6.44
AUC (μg · min ml−1) 3793 ± 193
MRT (min)           84.9 ± 27.6
Vdss (ml/kg)        114.8 ± 31.6
CLt (ml/min)        1.378 ± 0.0961

2) CoQ10 Concentration Pattern in Plasma after Oral Administration

The nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 according to examples of the present invention was orally administered to each of three rats at a dose of 60 mg/kg daily for 5 consecutive days, and the resulting plasma concentration-time data and Mean±S.E. of the results are presented in Tables 6 and 7, respectively.

FIG. 3 is a plasma concentration-time curve after multiple-dose oral administration of 60 mg/kg nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 according to examples of the present invention in rats.

TABLE 6
Time (hr)	No. 1	No. 2	No. 3	Mean	S.E.	C.V. (%)
0	0.501	0.321	0.268	0.363	0.086	23.760
0.5	0.481	0.065	0.198	0.248	0.150	60.618
1	0.521	0.107	0.442	0.357	0.155	43.520
1.5	—	0.274	0.524	0.399	0.125	31.258
2	—	0.562	0.552	0.557	0.005	0.872
3	0.643	0.806	0.832	0.760	0.073	9.536
4	0.892	0.725	1.605	1.074	0.331	30.779
6	1.039	0.678	1.236	0.984	0.200	20.333
8	0.732	0.391	0.598	0.573	0.122	21.225
12	0.651	0.367	0.620	0.546	0.110	20.178
18	0.470	0.341	0.554	0.455	0.076	16.619
24	0.515	—	0.394	0.455	0.060	13.259
48	0.334	0.216	N.D.a)	0.275	0.059	21.387
*N.D.: Not Detected (below the Quantitation).

TABLE 7
Time (hr) Plasma concentration (μg/ml)
0         0.36 ± 0.086
0.5       0.25 ± 0.150
1         0.36 ± 0.155
1.5       0.40 ± 0.125
2         0.56 ± 0.005
3         0.76 ± 0.073
4         1.07 ± 0.331
6         0.98 ± 0.200
8         0.57 ± 0.122
12        0.55 ± 0.110
24        0.45 ± 0.076
36        0.45 ± 0.060
48        0.28 ± 0.059

A CoQ10 powder formulation as a control was orally administered to each of two rats at a dose of 60 mg/kg daily for 5 consecutive days, and the resulting plasma concentration-time data and Mean±S.E. of the results are presented in Tables 8 and 9, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a plasma concentration-time curve after multiple-dose oral administration of 60 mg/kg CoQ10 powder formulation, as a control, in rats,

	TABLE 8
	Time
	(hr)	No. 1	No. 2	Mean	S.E.	C.V. (%)
	0	0.133	0.184	0.158	0.026	16.14
	0.5	0.189	0.187	0.188	0.001	0.650
	1	0.334	0.285	0.310	0.025	7.925
	1.5	0.440	0.308	0.374	0.066	17.69
	2	0.679	0.262	0.471	0.209	44.32
	3	0.643	0.453	0.548	0.095	17.31
	4	0.529	0.479	0.504	0.025	4.932
	6	0.439	0.396	0.417	0.022	5.159
	8	0.304	0.370	0.337	0.033	9.800
	12	0.369	0.346	0.357	0.012	3.239
	18	0.301	0.255	0.278	0.023	8.248
	24	0.205	0.236	0.220	0.015	6.907
	48	N.D.a)	0.089	0.089
	*N.D.: Not Detected (below the Quantitation).

TABLE 9
Time (hr) Plasma concentration (μg/ml)
0         0.16 ± 0.026
0.5       0.19 ± 0.001
1         0.31 ± 0.025
1.5       0.37 ± 0.066
2         0.47 ± 0.209
3         0.55 ± 0.095
4         0.50 ± 0.025
6         0.42 ± 0.022
8         0.34 ± 0.033
12        0.36 ± 0.012
18        0.28 ± 0.023
24        0.22 ± 0.015
48        0.089

Furthermore, pharmacokinetic parameters for the results shown in Tables 6 and 8 are given in Tables 10 and 11, while Mean±S.E. of the parameters are shown in Table 12.

	TABLE 10
	No. 1	No. 2	No. 3	Mean	S.E.	C.V. (%)
AUC (μg · hr ml−1)	32.5	36.6	31.3	33.5	1.96	5.85
Cmax (μg/hr)	1.04	0.806	1.60	1.15	0.29	25.3
Tmax (hr)	6.00	3.00	4.00	4.33	1.08	24.9
ka (hr−1)	0.13	0.152	0.096	0.126	0.02	15.9
t1/2 (hr)	7.05	16.4	11.2	11.5	3.33	28.8
AUMC (μg · hr2 ml−1)	59.5	563	222	281	182	64.6
MRT (hr)	12.26	33.0	15.7	20.3	7.86	38.7
Vdss (ml/kg)	68300	55400	29900	51200	138000	27.0
CLt (ml/hr)	5570	1630	1910	3030	1550	51.2
BA (%)	4.46	5.01	4.29	4.59	0.269	5.85

	TABLE 11
	No. 1	No. 2	Mean	S.E.	C.V. (%)
AUC	13.1	13.8	13.4	0.346	2.58
(μg · hr
ml−1)
Cmax (μg/hr)	0.679	0.479	0.579	1.00	173
Tmax (hr)	2.00	4.00	3.00	1.00	33.3
ka (hr−1)	0.592	0.199	0.395	0.196	49.6
t1/2 (hr)	7.91	4.99	6.45	1.46	22.6
AUMC	85.3	53.7	69.5	15.8	22.8
(μg · hr2
ml−1)
MRT (hr)	13.7	13.9	13.8	0.075	0.542
Vdss (ml/kg)	9310	15100	12200	2910	23.8
CLt (ml/hr)	677	1090	883	205	23.3
BA (%)	1.79	1.89	1.84	0.0475	2.58

TABLE 12
	Dose
	Parameter	Solution	Powder
	AUC (μg · hr ml−1)	33.4 ± 1.96	13.4 ± 0.346
	Cmax (μg/hr)	1.15 ± 0.291	0.579 ± 1.00
	Tmax (hr)	4.33 ± 1.080	3.00 ± 1.00
	ka (hr−1)	0.126 ± 0.020	0.395 ± 0.196
	t1/2 (hr)	11.5 ± 3.33	6.45 ± 1.46
	AUMC (μg · hr2 ml−1)	281 ± 181	69.4 ± 15.8
	MRT (hr)	20.3 ± 7.86	13.8 ± 0.075
	Vdss (ml/kg)	51200 ± 13800	12200 ± 2913
	CLt (ml/hr)	3030 ± 1550	882 ± 205
	BA (%)	4.59	1.84

Table 12 shows that maximum plasma concentration C_max after oral administration of the nano-emulsion composition according to the present invention was about 2 times higher than that of the control and the half life t_1/2 of the present composition also was about 2 times longer than that of the control.

The nano-emulsion composition of the present invention had a higher C_max and a longer t_1/2 than the control powder formulation and, as a result, AUC of the present composition was about 2.5 times larger than that of the control.

From the results described above, it is clearly understood that the nano-emulsion composition according to the present invention can exhibit improved bioavailability after oral administration thereof, compared to the control CoQ10 powder formulation.

[Industrial Applicability]

As apparent from the above description, a composition of the present invention which can be completely dissolved in water has an advantage that the composition is conveniently applied to production of drinks and/or other formulations for oral administration.

A nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 of the present invention is preferably applicable to pharmaceutical formulations for oral administration or food products and, especially, to manufacture of tonic drinks and/or functional health beverages. For these purposes, the present inventive composition may be diluted in water for use.

Claims

1. A nano-emulsion composition of CoQ1O comprising 5 to 20 wt. % of CoQ1O; 1 to 5 wt. % of ethanol; 1 to 5 wt. % of lecithin; 20 to 30 wt. % of caprylic/capric glyceride; 10 to 20 wt. % of glycerin; 1 to 15 wt. % of at least two coemulsifiers selected from the group consisting of polysorbate 20 (polyoxyethylene 20 sorbitan monolaurate), polysorbate 80 (polyoxyethylene 20 sorbitan monooleate), anionic amino acid based emulsifier(s), polyglycerin fatty acid ester, glycerin fatty acid ester, propyleneglycol fatty acid ester, sugar esters, cholesterol and sodium lauryl sulfate; and the balance of water.

2. The nano-emulsion composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the anionic amino acid based emulsifier(s) is at least one selected from a group consisting of: TEA cocoyl glutamate; sodium glutamate; sodium cocoyl glutamate; magnesium cocoyl glutamate; and sodium lauroyl glutamate.

3. The nano-emulsion composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the composition has a viscosity ranging from 1.0 to 15cPs(centipoises).

4. A nano-emulsion composition of CoQ10 comprising 5 to 20 wt. % of CoQ10; 1 to 5 wt. % of ethanol; 20 to 30 wt. % of caprylic/capric glyceride; 1 to 25 wt. % of at least two emulsifiers selected from the group consisting of polysorbate 20 (polyoxyethylene 20 sorbitan monolaurate), polysorbate 80 (polyoxyethylene 20 sorbitan monooleate), anionic amino acid based emulsifier(s), polyglycerin fatty acid ester, glycerin fatty acid ester, propyleneglycol fatty acid ester, sugar esters, cholesterol and sodium lauryl sulfate; 10 to 20 wt. % of glycerin and the balance of water.

5. The nano-emulsion composition as claimed in claim 4, wherein the anionic amino acid based emulsifier(s) is at least one selected from the group consisting of: TEA cocoyl glutamate; sodium glutamate; sodium cocoyl glutamate; magnesium cocoyl glutamate; and sodium lauroyl glutamate.

6. The nano-emulsion composition as claimed in claim 4, wherein the composition has a viscosity ranging from 1.0 to 15cPs(centipoises).