EFFECTS OF PYRROLOQUINOLINE QUINONE (PQQ) SUPPLEMENTATION ON NON-ENDURANCE TRAINED ATHLETES

September 2, 2025 updated by: University of Padova

EFFECTS OF PYRROLOQUINOLINE QUINONE (PQQ) SUPPLEMENTATION ON METABOLIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATION AT REST AND DURING SUBMAXIMAL EXERCISE IN NON-ENDURANCE-TRAINED ATHLETES: A RANDOMIZED PLACEBO-CONTROLLED TRIAL

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of six weeks of PQQ supplementation in non-endurance-trained individuals on:

  1. physiological and metabolic response during a FATmax-VO₂peak exercise test
  2. resting energy expenditure, body composition and blood biomarkers (fasting glucose, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels)
  3. blood and urine omics markers of oxidative metabolism 24 basketball players will be randomized to consume a supplement containing 20 mg/day of PQQ or placebo (PLA) during a six-week intervention. Subjects will be encouraged to maintain their usual diet and training schedule. Body composition will be assessed by dual-energy-x-ray-absorptiometry and bioimpedance analysis. Aerobic exercise performance will be evaluated through a graded exercise protocol (six 5-minutes steps followed by n 2-minutes steps until exhaustion; the initial workload was 60 watts and increased by 35 watts at the end of each step) performed on a cycle ergometer. Capillary blood lactate samples were collected at the end of each step. Blood and urine samples were also collected, and metabolomics analysis will be performed.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

24

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Italy
    • Italy
      • Padua, Italy, Italy, 35131
        • Nutrition and Exercise Lab, DSB, University of Padova

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 1) Age: Participants aged between 18 and 40 years.
  • 2) Body mass index (BMI): BMI within the range of 18-30 kg/m².
  • 4) Physical activity: Regular engagement in non-endurance physical activities (3-4 times a week), with no participation in structured endurance training programs.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • 1) chronic disease;
  • 2) acute illness; and
  • 3) use of dietary supplements, pharmacological agents, or adherence to a hypocaloric diet.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: PQQ GROUP
PQQ supplemented participants will receive 20mg/PQQ die
Dietary supplement: Pyrrole Quinoline Quinone (PQQ)
Subjects will be provided with 84 capsules of the PQQ or the placebo supplement. Both supplements were in capsule form and identical in size, shape and color. The PQQ content per capsule was 10 mg. The indication was to take two capsules every evening for 6 weeks. The duration of the supplementation protocol was assessed based on a previous study (Hwang et al., 2020), while the dose was chosen according to EFSA recommendations (Turck et al., 2017).
Placebo Comparator: PLACEBO GROUP
participants will be given a placebo for 36 days
Other: Placebo
Subjects were provided with 84 capsules of placebo. The indication will be to take two capsules every evening for 6 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Fat oxidation during FATmax-VO₂peak exercise test using gas analyzer.
Time Frame: 6 weeks
Participants perform a graded exercise test on an electronically braked bicycle ergometer. A modified FATmax protocol is employed. After a 10-min warm-up at 50 W, the test commenced at 60 W and the workload increased by 35 W every 5 min until the participant could no longer maintain a cadence ≥60 rpm. The volume of Oxygen uptake (VO₂) and carbon dioxide production (VCO₂) per minute were recorded via a breath-by-breath gas analyzer. The average V̇O2 and V̇CO2 is extracted over the final 2 min of each stage of the test to ensure steady-state values . FatAT and carbohydrate (CHO) CHO oxidation and energy expenditure are calculated via stoichiometric equations (Jeukendrup & Wallis, 2005) and appropriate energy equivalents, with the assumption that the urinary nitrogen excretion rate was negligible. Data are analyzed workload-matched
6 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Padova

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

September 1, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 15, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

August 15, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 22, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 22, 2025

First Posted (Estimated)

August 29, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

September 10, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 2, 2025

Last Verified

July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • HEC-DSB/05-21

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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