PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone): What It Is, Uses, Evidence & Safety

At a glance

Purpose, evidence and practical considerations.

What it’s for

Marketed for cognition and mitochondrial support

What the evidence says

A safety assessment is not proof of efficacy. Small human studies have not established durable cognitive, exercise or longevity benefits.

Confidence: unsupported

Safety & interactions

Human safety data are limited and most trials are small. Product purity and dose matter, and long-term use, pregnancy, breastfeeding and use with significant disease lack adequate evidence.

How it works & important distinctions

Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) supplies a nutrient or bioactive compound intended to alter a defined physiological pathway. The relevant form, baseline status and product quality determine whether the proposed mechanism is clinically meaningful.

Regulatory status: dietary supplement (US); authorised novel food in food supplements (EU); food / Foods with Function Claims ingredient (Japan). Not a medication. Not a device

In these protocols

How people use it, with their schedules, context and original sources.

Rhonda PatrickDaily supplements

Date of record:: 1 Jun 2026

Daily · evening

Details & sources

Her June 2025 account placed this at lunch; her February 2026 list places it in the evening. The later list does not restate a product amount.

Common dose and timing

Amount and timing patterns reported in public protocols; these are observations, not instructions. Private and hidden usage is excluded.

Frequency

Daily1 public entry
Full reported context
daily

Timing

evening1 public entry

Other items in these protocols

These share a protocol with this intervention. This does not establish that they work together or are suitable alternatives.