PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone) is a compound found naturally in small amounts in foods. As a supplement, usually PQQ disodium salt, it is marketed for energy and the mitochondria, and small trials have tested it for memory and attention.
Also known as: pyrroloquinoline quinone, PQQ disodium salt.
PQQ has no intake value or upper limit, and there is no NIH fact sheet for it. The trial below used 21.5 mg a day of PQQ disodium salt for 12 weeks. These are study protocols, not a recommendation.
It is sold in the US as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling. There is no FDA-approved PQQ drug.
In a 12-week randomized, placebo-controlled trial (Shiojima 2022), 58 healthy Japanese adults aged 40 to 80 who felt more forgetful completed the study; the group taking one maker's PQQ disodium salt scored better on several memory, attention and reaction-time tests than the placebo group, and no adverse events were seen. This is one small, short trial, and the results have not been confirmed in large independent studies.
Long-term safety in people has not been well studied. Talk with your clinician before taking it if you are pregnant or take prescription medicines.
We could not find a single published half-life or time to peak for PQQ that applies to a supplement dose, so we do not list one.
How Dose Track handles peptides · Reconstitution calculator · Half-life calculator