Of special importance is CoQ's role in producing energy in heart calls. Coenzymes should not be confused with enzymes. Coenzymes are relatively small molecules compared to enzymes, and thus, are not inactivated by stomach acids and are readily absorbed intact and totally functional. Vitamins often form the major part of coenzymes in the body. CoQ is assimilated as readily as vitamin E and K, as one would expect by their chemical structures.
Many enzymes work only in the presence of a smaller organic molecule called a coenzyme.
Enzymes are catalysts that speed reactions that might take place very slowly or not take place at all, if it were not for the presence of the coenzymes. This compound is so ubiquitous that it was first named ubiquinone. However, we cannnot manufacture CoQ from simple nutrients or CoQ's building blocks. To make matters worse, foods lose CoQ with processing and storage. Many persons depend on their food for all of their CoQ. CoQ is required for the production of cell energy in the mitochondria and it serves as an antioxidant.