Birth Control Pills Impact CoQ10, E Levels

BRONX, N.Y.--The use of oral contraceptives appears to impact serum levels of lipid-soluble antioxidants throughout the menstrual cycle, according to researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In their cross-sectional study, nonfasting blood samples were collected twice from 10 healthy, premenopausal women during the follicular and luteal phases of the same menstrual cycles. In addition, blood samples were taken from 15 premenopausal women who used oral contraceptives for at least six months and from 40 women who did not use the pills at a random day of their cycles. Serum levels of lipid-soluble antioxidants were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Serum levels of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and alpha-tocopherol were significantly lower during the follicular phase compared with the luteal phase of the same menstrual cycle; oral contraceptive use also significantly decreased levels of CoQ10 and alpha-tocopherol. The researchers concluded these alterations should be taken into consideration when conducting antioxidant research in premenopausal women or those taking oral contraceptives; they also suggested further studies are needed to examine the role of endogenous and exogenous ovarian hormones on oxidative stress.

The study was presented in part in May, 2005, at the 53rd Annual Clinical Meeting of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists, San Francisco, and published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (194, 5:e35-e38, 2006).