PQQ
Pyrroloquinoline quinone, usually sold as the disodium salt
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
Also known as: Pyrroloquinoline quinone, Methoxatin, BioPQQ, PQQ disodium salt, PQQ2Na
Sold for mitochondrial biogenesis. In a six-week training study, PQQ raised PGC-1alpha protein more than placebo and changed aerobic performance not at all, and a study in human keratinocytes and fibroblasts found no increase in mitochondrial biogenesis at all.
Overview
PQQ is a redox-cycling quinone found in trace amounts in foods and sold as a supplement, most often as the disodium salt. The marketing claim is specific and testable: that it triggers mitochondrial biogenesis through PGC-1alpha, effectively growing new mitochondria.
The claim has been tested in both directions. In 23 untrained men randomised to 20 mg a day of PQQ or placebo alongside a supervised six-week endurance training programme, PGC-1alpha protein rose significantly more in the PQQ group. Aerobic performance did not: peak oxygen uptake and total test duration improved in both groups, from the training, with no significant difference between them. Body composition did not differ either. The biomarker moved and the outcome did not, which is the most informative result in the PQQ literature.
Against the mechanism directly, a 2022 study in human keratinocytes and fibroblasts reported that PQQ disodium had no influence on increasing mitochondrial biogenesis in either cell type. The rodent and mouse work that supports the AMPK and PGC-1alpha story is real, but it is rodent and mouse work.
The rest of the human record is small trials on other endpoints. A 64-person, 12-week industry trial reported improvements across several Cognitrax cognitive domains against placebo in adults aged 40 to under 80. A 34-person trial in mild cognitive impairment combined PQQ with hydrogen-producing minerals, so its results cannot be attributed to PQQ, and its primary endpoint, between-group change in serum BDNF, showed only a non-significant trend. A 29-person trial run by the BioPQQ manufacturer found no change in triglycerides and a marginal fall in LDL cholesterol.
Mechanism of action
A redox cofactor that cycles between oxidised and reduced states and can act as an antioxidant and as a signalling molecule. The proposed route is activation of AMPK and upregulation of PGC-1alpha, the transcriptional coactivator that drives mitochondrial biogenesis, which has been shown in a rotenone rodent model of Parkinson's disease and in mouse work. In the one human study that measured it, PGC-1alpha protein did rise more with PQQ during training. In human keratinocytes and fibroblasts, mitochondrial biogenesis did not increase.
Human evidence
PQQ has been tested in people several times, in trials of 23 to 64 participants, mostly industry funded. The exercise result is negative, the cognitive results are positive in small studies, and the mechanism study in human cells is negative.
- Exercise, 23 untrained men, 20 mg a day for six weeks with supervised training: no between-group difference in aerobic performance or body composition, with PGC-1alpha protein higher in the PQQ group.
- Cognition, 64 healthy adults aged 40 to under 80, 12 weeks: improvements across several Cognitrax domains and on MMSE-J against placebo. Branded product, industry authors, published erratum.
- Mild cognitive impairment, 34 participants, six weeks: PQQ given together with hydrogen-producing minerals, primary BDNF endpoint showed only a non-significant between-group trend.
- Lipids, 29 adults, 12 weeks: triglycerides unchanged, LDL cholesterol down marginally from 136.1 to 127.0 mg/dL. Manufacturer-run.
- Human keratinocytes and fibroblasts: no increase in mitochondrial biogenesis.
What this does not tell you: Every human trial here is small and most are funded or authored by the companies selling the ingredient, which is not disqualifying but has to be stated. The cognitive results are the positive ones and they come from the most commercially interested studies, with a multi-domain test battery that invites multiple comparisons. The one study that measured a hard performance outcome found nothing. And the only clean test of the marketed mechanism in human cells was negative, which matters more than any of the biomarker movements.
Reading the research record
PQQ is the clearest example on this site of a supplement sold on a surrogate. The claim is mitochondrial biogenesis. In the one human study that measured both the surrogate and the outcome, the surrogate moved and the outcome did not: PGC-1alpha protein was higher with PQQ, and peak oxygen uptake and exercise duration improved identically in both groups, because both groups trained.
That is the honest summary of PQQ and exercise, and it is a useful template. A transcriptional coactivator rising in a biopsy is not new mitochondria, and new mitochondria would not be worth anything unless something measurable improved.
The cognitive literature is more favourable and less reliable. Two small randomised trials report benefit, one of them on a branded product with industry authorship and a published erratum, the other confounded by co-administering hydrogen-producing minerals. Neither has been independently replicated at a size that would settle anything.
The safety picture is unremarkable at the doses studied, 20 mg a day in most human trials, with no adverse events reported. The gap between that and the biogenesis claim on the label is the point.
The evidence, charted
Fig. 1 · evidence composition
4of 6 citations (67%) are in people
Counted from the citation list on this page. The Human count is the same number shown in the badge at the top. Both understate any literature larger than the sources we cite.
Fig. 2 · evidence over time
Evidence spans 5 distinct years, 2015 to 2024, counted from the citation list on this page.
Fig. 3 · legal status at a glance
US
Not approved
UK
Not approved
AU
Not approved
CA
Not approved
Not approved in any of the four jurisdictions shown. A jurisdiction's classification is a regulatory fact, not a verdict on the science; see Legal status below for the full text and any notes.
Key studies & citations
- Human2020
Effects of Pyrroloquinoline Quinone (PQQ) Supplementation on Aerobic Exercise Performance and Indices of Mitochondrial Biogenesis in Untrained Men
23 untrained men randomised to 20 mg a day of PQQ or placebo alongside a supervised six-week endurance training programme. There were no significant differences between groups in aerobic performance after endurance training (p > 0.05). Peak oxygen uptake and total test duration improved in both groups, from the training. PGC-1alpha protein rose significantly more in the PQQ group. The authors conclude PQQ does not appear to elicit ergogenic effects on aerobic performance or body composition.
Journal of the American College of Nutrition - In vitro2022
Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Disodium (PQQ2Na) Has an NLRP Inflammasome-Induced Caspase-1 Release Influence in UVB-Irradiated but Not ATP-Treated Human Keratinocytes but Has No Influence in Increasing Skin Cell Mitochondrial Biogenesis in Either Human Keratinocytes or Fibroblasts
A direct negative on the marketed mechanism, in human cells. PQQ disodium did not increase mitochondrial biogenesis in either human keratinocytes or fibroblasts, though it did influence inflammasome-driven caspase-1 release in UVB-irradiated keratinocytes.
Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology - Human2022
Effect of Dietary Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Disodium Salt on Cognitive Function in Healthy Volunteers: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel-Group Study
64 healthy Japanese adults aged 40 to under 80 randomised for 12 weeks, 58 completed. The PQQ group improved against placebo on Cognitrax composite memory, verbal memory, reaction time, complex attention, cognitive flexibility, executive function and motor speed, and on the two secondary scales. No adverse events. Industry authorship and a branded product, and the record carries a published erratum.
Journal of the American Nutrition Association - Human2024
The impact of six-week dihydrogen-pyrroloquinoline quinone supplementation on mitochondrial biomarkers, brain metabolism, and cognition in elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial
34 elderly people with mild cognitive impairment, six weeks. The intervention combined PQQ with hydrogen-producing minerals, so nothing can be attributed to PQQ alone. Serum BDNF, the primary endpoint, rose within the active group (p = 0.01) but the between-group interaction was only a non-significant trend. Cerebral oxygenation rose from 48.4 to 52.8 percent and one ADAS-Cog domain, orientation, showed a significant interaction.
The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging - Human2015
Effects of Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Disodium Salt Intake on the Serum Cholesterol Levels of Healthy Japanese Adults
29 healthy Japanese adults aged 40 to 57 with normal to moderately high triglycerides, 20 mg a day for 12 weeks, randomised and double blind. Mean triglycerides did not change. LDL cholesterol fell marginally in the PQQ group, from 136.1 to 127.0 mg/dL, with a clearer fall in the subgroup whose baseline LDL was 140 mg/dL or above. Run by the division of the company that makes BioPQQ.
Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology - Animal2021
Pyrroloquinoline quinone promotes mitochondrial biogenesis in rotenone-induced Parkinson's disease model via AMPK activation
The mechanistic support for the biogenesis claim, in a rotenone rodent model of Parkinson's disease via AMPK activation. Rodent, in a disease model, not healthy human muscle.
Acta Pharmacologica Sinica
Frequently asked questions
Does PQQ actually create new mitochondria?
Not demonstrably in humans. It raised PGC-1alpha protein in a six-week training study, which is a signal upstream of biogenesis, while a study in human keratinocytes and fibroblasts found no increase in mitochondrial biogenesis at all. Nobody has counted mitochondria in human muscle before and after PQQ.
Will PQQ improve my endurance?
In the trial designed to answer that, 23 untrained men taking 20 mg a day through a supervised six-week endurance programme showed no better aerobic performance than placebo. The training worked. The supplement added nothing measurable on top.
Should I take PQQ with CoQ10?
That pairing is a marketing convention rather than a tested protocol. No trial has compared PQQ plus CoQ10 against either alone in humans, so there is no evidence for or against the combination.
Does PQQ help memory?
Two small randomised trials suggest benefit, and both have problems. One is a 64-person industry trial on a branded product using a multi-domain cognitive battery, with a published erratum. The other combined PQQ with hydrogen-producing minerals in 34 people and missed its primary endpoint between groups.
Is PQQ safe?
At the 20 mg a day used in most human trials no adverse events were reported, across studies lasting 6 to 12 weeks. There is no long-term human safety data, and no data at the higher doses some products carry.