Coenzyme Q 10 is a vitamin-like substance found naturally in the body as well as in some foods. The natural amount of Coenzyme Q 10 is often lessened in older people and those with some types of chronic illnesses. Coenzyme Q 10 is said to minimize wrinkling and aging and to have antioxidant properties.

While many skin creams and vitamin supplements containing Coenzyme Q 10 continue to be popular and some research has suggested Coenzyme Q 10's beneficial properties, the response to the "miracle" of Coenzyme Q 10 is somewhat controversial. The Mayo Clinic has stated that there is insufficient evidence to show that replenishing lost Coenzyme Q 10 with supplements has any effect on the body. However, the Mayo Clinic also mentioned studies that have linked Coenzyme Q 10 with a reduction in blood pressure.

The Linus Pauling Institute has said that more research into the effect of supplemental Coenzyme Q 10 is needed and has also warned that Coenzyme Q 10 supplements may reduce the anticoagulant properties of drugs such as Warfarin. Coenzyme Q 10 is found naturally in fairly high amounts in meat, fish and poultry as well as nuts, canola oil and soybean oil. Coenzymes are necessary for enzymes in the body to work properly.

The discipline of free radical chemistry studies the antioxidant properties of substances and some biochemical research has found Coenzyme Q 10 to have an antioxidant affect on the body's cells. Antioxidants work at the cellular level and are said to help the body better handle the affects of aging. Increased oxidation is thought to make the skin appear less wrinkled.

Dr. Frederick Crane discovered Coenzyme Q 10 in a cow's heart in 1957. Later that year, Professor R.A. Morton from England found a substance similar to coq 10 in a rat's liver. Morton observed that this quinone-based substance was ubiquitous, or existing in many places at once, so he named it ubiquinone. The pharmaceutical company, Merck, Inc., analyzed Coenzyme Q 10 and was able to manufacture it synthetically.