Suppression of the hydrazine-induced formation of megamitochondria in the rat liver by coenzyme Q(10)

The effects of coenzyme Q(10) (CoQ(10)) on the hydrazine-induced changes in the structure of mitochondria and those in antioxidant systems of the liver were investigated using rats as experimental animals. Animals were placed on a powdered diet containing 1.0% hydrazine for 7-8 days in the presence or absence of the combined treatment with CoQ(10). Results obtained were as follows: (a) treatment of animals with CoQ(10) prevented the hydrazine-induced formation of megamitochondria in the liver; (b) changes observed in the liver of the hydrazine-treated animals in comparison to the control were increases in the contents of alpha-tocopherol and CoQ analogs, increases in the levels of lipid peroxidation, decreases in the level of reduced glutathione with increases in that of oxidized glutathione, and increases in the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids in phospholipid domains of mitochondrial membranes; and (c) administration of CoQ(10) to hydrazine-treated animals suppressed enhanced lipid peroxidation and improved lowered adenosine diphosphate/O ratios of mitochondria. The present data suggest that CoQ(10) suppresses the hydrazine-induced formation of megamitochondria by scavenging free radicals generated from hydrazine and its metabolites.