Reduced Coenzyme Q10 Production via pH-Controlled Organic Solvent Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing reduced coenzyme Q10 require large amounts of water, leading to inefficiencies and incomplete reduction reactions, and often necessitate the use of additional reaction promoters that complicate the process.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a reduction reaction of oxidized coenzyme Q10 using ascorbic acid as a reducing agent in a water-containing organic solvent with a pH of 5 or below, eliminating the need for additional promoters and optimizing reaction conditions to achieve high purity and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If water is used as solvent in reduction reaction, then reaction completeness is improved, but volume efficiency deteriorates and reaction time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the solvent system from pure water to a water-containing organic solvent system, and adjusts the pH parameter to 5 or below. This parameter change allows the reaction to maintain completeness while improving volume efficiency and reducing reaction time, as the organic solvent component enhances solubility of coenzyme Q10 and reaction kinetics.
2Loss of time
If reaction promoters such as basic substances or bisulfite are added, then reaction time is shortened, but process complexity increases due to additional removal steps
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses the water-containing organic solvent system at pH 5 or below to inherently promote the reduction reaction without requiring additional reaction promoters. The solvent system itself creates favorable reaction conditions, eliminating the need for separate promoter addition and removal steps, thus reducing process complexity while maintaining short reaction time.
3Manufacturing precision
If conventional reduction methods are used, then reduced coenzyme Q10 is produced, but additional steps are required to remove reaction promoters
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts or eliminates the need for reaction promoters from the conventional process by using the water-containing organic solvent system at pH 5 or below, which inherently facilitates complete reduction. This removes the problematic component (reaction promoters) that required additional removal steps, thereby improving production efficiency while maintaining product purity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly shortens the reaction time and minimizes volume inefficiencies, allowing for the production of highly pure reduced coenzyme Q10 without the need for subsequent promoter removal steps.
Implementation Method 1
reducing oxidized coenzyme Q10 with ascorbic acid or its analogue(s)... performing a reduction reaction using a water-containing organic solvent as a reaction solvent and under the conditions of pH 5 or below
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention aims to provide reduced coenzyme Q10, which is useful as food, food with nutrient function claims, food for specified health use, nutritional supplement, nutritional product, animal drug, drink, feed, cosmetic, pharmaceutical product, therapeutic drug, prophylactic drug and the like, and a production method of reduced coenzyme Q10. The present invention provides a production method of reduced coenzyme Q10, which includes reducing oxidized coenzyme Q10 with ascorbic acid or its analogue(s) as a reducing agent in a water-containing organic solvent at not more than pH 5. Using the method, the reaction time can be drastically shortened even without adding a basic substance and the like, and unpreferable side reactions can be minimized. Therefore, reduced coenzyme Q10 with high quality can be produced.