Ensuring the Health of Mitochondria: Nourishing The Command Center of Cells

By Melissa Olivadoti, PhD, Medical Affairs Consultant, Kaneka Nutrients

Mitochondria are known as the powerhouse of the cell, creating energy for cellular processes all over the body. Recent research has demonstrated that mitochondria act more like the command center of the cell, coordinating cellular processes such as cell fate, immune responses to invaders, management of waste products, creation of antioxidants, and so much more. These critical functions mean that healthy mitochondria are required to keep cells, tissues, and organs in good health as the body ages. 

Mitochondria are also subject to damage with age, when oxidative stress increases and antioxidant levels decrease, which makes antioxidant supplementation so important to overall cellular health during aging. In this article we will review some of the critical roles and responsibilities these cellular CEOs have, and how supplements like Kaneka Ubiquinol^® can keep them healthy and thriving with age. 

Fascinating Organelles

Mitochondria are found in nearly every cell, and in higher amounts in cells and organs with high energy requirements including the heart, muscle, and reproductive cells. They have two layered membranes, with cellular energy creation processes occurring within the inner membrane to manufacture adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. 

During energy creation, free radicals are also created that can cause damage to mitochondrial components and cells. To manage this risk, this same energy production process also creates an antioxidant called ubiquinol that neutralizes these free radicals.

Mitochondria also contain their own DNA (called mtDNA) that is passed down only from the mother. Having healthy mtDNA is critical for the mitochondria’s ability to create energy and coordinate cellular processes but can be subject to damage from free radicals from the environment and energy production.

Mitochondria Regulate Cell Identity and Fate

As the environment around cells changes, mitochondria can help cells adjust to those changes to meet the demands for energy and ensure cell health and survival. For example, if a cell needs to divide, mitochondria oversee the creation of nucleotides and lipids that are required for cell division and exert influence over the progression of the cell cycle, including cell growth, DNA replication, and final division. Mitochondria also drive decisions for a cell to stop dividing while staying metabolically active (quiescence), to rest due to damage (senescence), or even for the cell to die and be recycled (apoptosis) to ensure the health of tissues based on the environment. Having healthy mitochondria is key to a healthy cell and appropriate cellular changes, safeguarding them from free radicals and damage.

Mitochondria are also important for directing stem cell changes (also known as “cell fate”) depending on the needs of the cells or tissues around them. This process requires genetic changes through signaling, and mitochondria are critical for these biological processes. For example, if there is local damage to bone due to exercise, mitochondria can signal for bone stem cells (bone-derived mesenchymal stem cells) to transform into bone building cells (osteocytes) to repair the damage. Both cellular identity and cell fate decisions are impacted when mitochondria or their DNA are not healthy. An excess of free radicals that damage mitochondria can lead to improper cell division and cell fate decisions, which has been linked to conditions of aging.

Mitochondria Regulate Themselves

Energetic and cellular needs change rapidly, so mitochondria need to be able to adjust to the environment along with telling the cell how to respond. This means that mitochondria adjust their own activity to meet cellular demands, including dividing to create more of themselves (fission), repairing themselves by fusing with other mitochondria to gain access to parts (fusion), or may even die off when they are unable to fix the damage they experience (mitophagy). Much of these processes are managed by mtDNA, and without healthy mtDNA our mitochondria cells are unable to maintain cellular wellness.    

Keeping Everything Tidy

As cell processes occur, they create waste products that need to be removed or recycled to keep cells functioning properly. These include molecules such as lactate, ammonia, reactive oxygen species, and hydrogen sulfide. If these waste products build up, they can do damage to cells and tissues. Mitochondria remove these waste products so that they don’t build up, but healthy mitochondria and mtDNA are necessary for these waste products to be removed consistently.

Mitochondria Neutralize Free Radicals

Free radicals are created during mitochondrial and cellular processes, and accumulate with age. Most free radicals are neutralized by antioxidants like ubiquinol before they can cause damage. If they accumulate in the body, which can occur with age and inflammation, they can cause oxidative stress which results in damage to mitochondrial and cell structures. This can lead to damage to cell components, cells, over time lead to problems in tissues or organs, and eventually lead to conditions of aging.  

One of these antioxidants, ubiquinol, is produced inside the mitochondrial membranes through the conversion of CoQ10 (ubiquinone) during the energy creation process. Ubiquinol acts to neutralize free radicals right where they are made and in other parts of the cell to stop oxidative stress before it starts to cause damage. Unfortunately, as the body ages it is less able to convert ubiquinone to ubiquinol, and there is a buildup of free radicals to mitigate. This results in levels of ubiquinol declining with age and in states of inflammation, leaving cells and tissues at risk of oxidative stress and resulting damage. It is not possible to make up for this decline through eating a healthy diet, as the levels of ubiquinol are very low in foods. Fortunately, supplementation of ubiquinol can restore the body to healthy levels. To ensure mitochondrial and cellular health, the body needs sufficient levels of ubiquinol to manage free radicals as they accumulate to keep cells and tissues healthy and protect them from oxidative stress.

Why Quality Matters When Choosing Antioxidants

Many antioxidants naturally oxidize under exposure to air and light. They may also require specific excipients and packaging for stability and efficient absorption in the body. The environment in which they are manufactured and packaged needs to be tightly controlled to ensure they retain their antioxidant properties and formulations matter. This includes ingredient quality management from production to delivery and ingestion. Kaneka ensures that their Ubiquinol^® products remain in the antioxidant form during manufacturing in their factory, and gives guidance to partners for formulations, along with testing final products off the shelf to ensure quality once products are produced and distributed. Products that pass these rigorous testing processes receive The Kaneka Quality Seal on their label. Consumers can rest assured that a bottle with Kaneka Ubiquinol^® in the ingredients list, along with the Kaneka Quality seal, will deliver a high-quality antioxidant to optimize mitochondrial and cellular wellness.