{"ok":true,"entry":{"slug":"pqq","kind":"supplement","name":"pqq","aliases":["pyrroloquinoline quinone","BioPQQ"],"brands_sg":["California Gold Nutrition","Doctor's Best","Life Extension","NOW Foods","Jarrow Formulas"],"class":"vitamin-like compound","tags":["energy","cognitive"],"use_for":"limited human evidence — small trials, no pooled review","use_after":null,"use_duration":"trials ran 12 weeks or 90 days at 20 mg a day","take_with":"sg listings are mostly coq10 combos, not pqq alone","pros":["20 mg a day is the level used across the trials","double-blind memory trials exist in adults 20-65","food-ingredient status in the us, japan and the eu"],"cons":["the 'longevity vitamin' role is debated, not settled","energy claims rest on mitochondrial mechanism work","in a 60-person rct, one domain showed a group effect"],"dose_note":"the review literature puts the baseline intake level at 20 mg a day, and that is the amount used in the double-blind trial that reported composite and verbal memory changes at 12 weeks in adults aged 20 to 65, in a 60-person placebo-controlled exercise trial, and in a 50-woman open-label study run over 90 days that found no change in its primary outcome; pqq disodium salt has been an fda-accepted new food ingredient since 2008 and is approved as a food in japan and the eu","dosage":{"ul":null,"unit":"mg","fda_dv":null,"rda_ai":null,"ul_status":"none_established","population":"general adult","hsa_max_daily":null},"ul_status":"none_established","sg_class":null,"cautions":["the ovarian-reserve study was single-arm and open-label — no control group","much of what is claimed for pqq is bacterial and cell-level mechanism, not human outcome data","most sg listings pair pqq with coq10 or ubiquinol, so the pqq amount varies by product","pqq is not listed in hsa annex a or b — hsa says that list is not exhaustive"],"clashes":[],"sources":[{"id":"jacs2026","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13088180","label":"Chemical Proteomics Reveal the Inventory of Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Binding Proteins in Bacteria (Journal of the American Chemical Society 2026; PMC13088180)","quote":"Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is a bacterial redox cofactor enabling enzyme catalysis in various sugar and alcohol dehydrogenases. However, its proposed additional role as a \"longevity vitamin\" lacks a clear molecular basis and is thus highly debated.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"frontaging2026","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13219961","label":"Dietary pyrroloquinoline quinone and spermidine in healthy longevity: targeting the hallmarks of aging (Frontiers in Aging 2026; PMC13219961) — mechanism review","quote":"PQQ primarily functions as a mitochondrial and redox regulator, enhancing mitochondrial biogenesis and bioenergetic capacity through the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and sirtuin1 (SIRT1)/peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha pathways.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"foodfunc2023","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/MED/36807425","label":"Pyrroloquinoline quinone disodium salt improves brain function in both younger and older adults (Food & Function 2023; PMID 36807425)","quote":"PQQ (20 mg per day) was administered for 12 weeks to the participants. After 12 weeks, the participants showed improvements in composite memory and verbal memory.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"jmi2024","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/MED/38735721","label":"The effects of pyrroloquinoline quinone disodium salt on brain function and physiological processes (Journal of Medical Investigation 2024; PMID 38735721)","quote":"approved as a new food ingredient by FDA in 2008. Now, it is approved as a food in Japan and the EU … The baseline intake level of PQQ is considered to be 20 mg/day.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"jmi2024_cog","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/MED/38735721","label":"Journal of Medical Investigation 2024 review — what the cognitive trials reported","quote":"In the field of cognitive function, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have been conducted. Various improvements have been reported regarding general memory, verbal memory, working memory, and attention.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"scirep2026","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC12886864","label":"The effects of pyrroloquinoline quinone and nicotinamide mononucleotide supplementation on interoception following acute exhaustive exercise: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study (Scientific Reports 2026; PMC12886864)","quote":"Sixty participants were randomly assigned in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial … Body listening was the only domain that demonstrated a significant group × time interaction","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"frontendo2026","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42500134","label":"Serum anti-Mullerian hormone response to pyrroloquinoline quinone supplementation in healthy women: no overall change and exploratory subgroup findings (Frontiers in Endocrinology 2026; PMID 42500134)","quote":"Fifty healthy women aged 25-42 years … received 20 mg/day of PQQ for 90 ± 10 days … AMH did not change significantly overall","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hsa_prohibited_2025","url":"https://file.go.gov.sg/hsa-chp-prohibited-restricted-ing-guidelines.pdf","label":"HSA Singapore - Guidelines on Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients in HS and TM, GL-CHPB-1-012 Rev. No. 001 (October 2025), clause 1.3 + Annexes A and B","quote":"The objective of this guideline is to highlight the substances of concern when used in HS and TM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"iherb_sg","url":"https://sg.iherb.com/c/pqq","label":"iHerb Singapore — PQQ category (Brain), default order","quote":"1 - 45 of 45 results … California Gold Nutrition, CoQ10 with PQQ … Doctor's Best, PQQ, 20 mg … Life Extension, Super Ubiquinol CoQ10 with PQQ … NOW Foods, PQQ … Jarrow Formulas, QH-Absorb® + PQQ","accessed":"2026-08-27"}],"brand_certs":null,"updated_at":"2026-08-29T16:16:29.426925+08:00"},"disclaimer":"kozen-x is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. it lists what published sources have written down. absence of a record is not the same as safe."}