A whopping $2.5 billion—that's how much the global food antioxidants market was worth in 2018. And come 2025, it will surpass the $3 billion count.

In the US alone, three-quarters of adults take some form of dietary supplements. About 98% of those people say they do so to boost their intake of vitamins and minerals, many of which are antioxidants.

Surprisingly, idebenone (IDE), an antioxidant powerhouse, isn't getting that much attention. In fact, it appears that not a lot of people know of it, seeing as it's not in the list of commonly used supplements!

It's a shame, as idebenone supplements can be a superior dietary addition.

The question now is what exactly is IDE and what benefits can it bring to the table? Why should you even know about it?

We'll address all these questions in this post, so be sure to keep reading!

What Is Idebenone?

Idebenone is a man-made product that has powerful antioxidant properties. Its structure is very much like the naturally-occurring antioxidant, ubiquinone (coenzyme Q10). Because of this, many refer to IDE as a "synthetic analog" of ubiquinone.

While it is synthetic, idebenone is a super potent antioxidant, more so than Vitamin E.

This has led to its use as a treatment for diseases caused by mitochondrial dysfunction. From improving skin health to retaining memory, scientists say IDE has many benefits.

How It Works

As an antioxidant, idebenone scavenges free radicals known as reactive oxidative species (ROS). It neutralizes the ROS found in the mitochondria, which is every cell's "powerhouse."

In this way, IDE can prevent oxidative damage in and from within the cells. It also assists cell survival and recovery from existing free radical damage.

IDE: An Antioxidant that Exceeds the Power of Vitamin E

There are thousands of antioxidants, with flavonoids alone having 6,000 different kinds. Kinetin is among the most used flavonoids in various skincare products.

Vitamin C's L-ascorbic acid is another type of antioxidant. There's also vitamin E, another potent antioxidant, which comes in eight chemical forms. Of these E vitamins, alpha-tocopherol is the only kind said to meet human requirements.

Many skincare products, particularly those for anti-aging, incorporate these antioxidants. However, they have different "methods of action," so their effectiveness also varies.

As such, researchers sought to quantify these antioxidants' oxidative stress protection capacity. Some of what they tested include idebenone, dl-alpha-tocopherol, kinetin, and L-ascorbic acid.

IDE ranked the highest, achieving a score of 95. That's 15 points higher than dl-alpha-tocopherol's score of 80. Kinetin scored 68 while L-ascorbic acid got only 41.

The higher the score, the greater the effectiveness of the antioxidant. Meaning, of these common ingredients in skincare products, IDE is the most effective.

Smoother, Healthier, and Younger-Looking Skin

Researchers found that using idebenone for six weeks can boost skin hydration by up to 37%. They also noted a 27% to 29% reduction in fine lines and wrinkles with its use. Skin dryness also went down by 23% to 26%.

What's more, the IDE treatment improved photodamaged skin by 30% to 33%!

If you suffer from any of these skin conditions, it's time to take idebenone supplements. Within a month and a half, you could have softer, smoother, radiant, and younger-looking skin!

May Help Protect Your Memory

Slowed nerve activity is one of the causes of memory deficits. This usually happens as one gets older. Worse, this reduced activity can cause further nerve breakdown.

Nerves can also degrade due to oxidative stress and damage. If there’s not enough antioxidant in your system, your memory may start to fade. You may also have a hard time creating and storing new memories.

Using idebenone supplements may help prevent these memory issues. Previous research suggests that IDE may help reduce short-term memory impairment.

May Help Keep Alzheimer’s Disease at Bay

Beta-amyloid is a sticky protein fragment that sticks to and forms layers in the brain. These layers seem to disrupt brain cells and their communication processes. Some scientists believe that this then ultimately kills the cells.

This cell death, also known as the “amyloid hypothesis,” is one of the believed causes of AD.

One of the earliest (and current) uses of idebenone is to treat Alzheimer's disease. Early research reported IDE's neuroprotective properties against nerve toxicity caused by beta-amyloid.

Several other studies showed that IDE treatment improved symptoms of Alzheimer’s. One study involved 102 AD patients treated with IDE. Four months after, the patients experienced improved attention, behavior, and memory.

A separate study also reported the same improvements in memory, attention, and orientation. Moreover, the researchers found that IDE treatment slowed the disease's progression.

May Help Ease the Symptoms of Friedreich Ataxia

Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is a genetic condition of the nervous system. People who have it experience movement and mobility problems. Over time, their muscles become impaired, and their symptoms get worse.

What's more, FRDA can also cause severe hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). This is life-threatening as it leads to the thickening of an area of the heart. From there, the heart becomes ineffective in pumping blood throughout the body.

Previous research showed that idebenone helps reduce these symptoms of FRDA. This effect may again be due to its powerful antioxidative properties.

Keep Your Skin Radiant, Your Nerves Healthy, and Your Memory Sharp with IDE

There you have it, everything you need to know about idebenone and its many potential uses. IDE supplements can benefit your skin, memory, cognitive functions, and even your mobility! Best of all, it's safe to take idebenone supplements with vitamin C so long as you dose right.

Ready to take back what time seems to be stealing from you? Then time to shop for high-quality idebenone supplements! Feel free to connect with us too if you need more details about IDE or help in choosing the right idebenone dose.