{ "dataset": "pqq-cost-by-brand", "title": "PQQ Supplements Compared — cost per mg and BioPQQ-branded vs generic-disodium ingredient tier", "sourcePage": "https://verifiedsupplementdata.com/pqq/best-overall/", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "attribution": "Verified Supplement Data (2026), PQQ Cost Comparison", "dateModified": "2026-07-18", "methodology": "All four products here disclose PQQ mg directly on the label. For the three PURE PQQ products, costPerMg = price / (servings x mg per serving) is a real, honest comparison. The fourth product (NOW Foods PQQ Energy) bundles 20mg BioPQQ with 30mg CoQ10, 200mg acetyl-L-carnitine, and 1000mcg B12 in the same capsule — its costPerMg field is computed the same way but is NOT a fair apples-to-apples comparison against the pure products, because it ignores the cost of three other active ingredients; pureComparison=false flags this, and it is excluded from the ranked cost table on the best-overall page. \"ingredientTier\" is the PRIMARY ranking axis on best-overall, not price: branded-biopqq (names BioPQQ™, the Mitsubishi Gas Chemical raw material used in most of the human trials cited in this evidence base), generic-disodium (same molecule, no branded raw material named), combo (the NOW Foods PQQ+CoQ10 bundle). Trial-dose context: 20mg/day is both the most-used single trial dose (5 of 12 verified human trials) and the most common retail dose. 21.5mg/day (Shiojima 2022, PMID 34415830) is the largest completer-n trial (n=58) but tested a DIFFERENT branded ingredient (mnemoPQQ, not BioPQQ) and has a Cepham Inc.-affiliated senior author — not a BioPQQ replication. Retail products range roughly 10-40mg/day; no human trial in this evidence base has tested a PQQ dose above about 22mg/day. INDUSTRY-AFFILIATION CONTEXT: five of twelve verified human trials are Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (BioPQQ manufacturer)-affiliated; a sixth (Shiojima 2022, the largest) is Cepham Inc.-affiliated on a different ingredient. The mitochondrial-biogenesis mechanism (PGC-1α/CREB, Chowanadisai 2010, PMID 19861415) is mouse/cell-culture data, never measured as a human trial's primary outcome — the one related human biomarker trial (Hwang 2020, PMID 31860387, n=23, academic/non-industry) found the biomarker rose with ZERO functional benefit. Kidney safety: the 1989 intraperitoneal-injection rat study (PMID 2546903) should always be read together with two modern ORAL rat toxicology studies with NOAELs of 100mg/kg/day (PMID 24995591) and 400mg/kg/day (PMID 25445509) — roughly 300-1,500x the human trial dose. This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA; these products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.", "headline": { "productsCompared": 4, "pureProducts": 3, "comboProducts": 1, "trialDoseMg": 20, "largestTrialMg": 21.5, "retailLowMg": 10, "retailHighMg": 40, "cheapestPerMg": 0.015, "cheapestPerMgBrand": "Nutricost", "brandedPickBrand": "Life Extension", "genericPickBrand": "Nutricost", "note": "The cheapest cost per mg overall is a generic PQQ disodium product with no named branded raw material. The BioPQQ-branded product is not the cheapest, but is the raw material used in most of the cited human trials. Ranked by BioPQQ-branded vs generic-disodium ingredient tier FIRST on the best-overall page, price second. The NOW Foods PQQ+CoQ10 combo is excluded from the ranked cost-per-mg table." }, "columns": [ "brand", "product", "slug", "form", "mgPerServing", "servings", "price", "costPerServing", "costPerMg", "ingredientTier", "pureComparison", "thirdParty" ], "units": { "mgPerServing": "mg PQQ", "price": "USD", "costPerServing": "USD/serving (assumes 1 serving/day)", "costPerMg": "USD per mg of PQQ" }, "citations": [ { "claim": "RCT n=41 healthy elderly, 20mg/day BioPQQ 12wk: significantly smaller Stroop-interference (attention) decline vs placebo; NIRS suggested increased prefrontal blood flow. Nakano is a Mitsubishi Gas Chemical employee.", "source": "Itoh Y, Nakano M, et al. 2016, Adv Exp Med Biol", "pmid": "26782228" }, { "claim": "RCT n=58 completers, healthy Japanese adults ~70-72y, 21.5mg/day mnemoPQQ (a DIFFERENT branded ingredient than BioPQQ) 12wk: significant Cognitrax composite/verbal memory, attention, executive-function improvements. Senior co-author is CSO of Cepham Inc.", "source": "Shiojima Y, Bagchi D, et al. 2022, J Am Nutr Assoc", "pmid": "34415830" }, { "claim": "RCT n=23 untrained men, academic/non-industry, 20mg/day PQQ + 6wk endurance training: PGC-1α protein rose significantly in muscle vs placebo, but NO additional aerobic-performance or body-composition benefit — mechanism rose, functional outcome did not.", "source": "Hwang PS, et al. 2020, J Am Coll Nutr", "pmid": "31860387" }, { "claim": "Mouse-hepatocyte cell-culture mechanism study: PQQ activated CREB phosphorylation and PGC-1α expression, increasing mitochondrial markers. Foundational paper behind the \"boosts mitochondria\" claim — never demonstrated as a human trial outcome.", "source": "Chowanadisai W, et al. 2010, J Biol Chem", "pmid": "19861415" }, { "claim": "Oral rat toxicology, Sprague-Dawley, 13wk up to 100mg/kg/day: NOAEL 100mg/kg/day; high-dose females showed reversible kidney changes. Mitsubishi Gas Chemical-affiliated.", "source": "Nakano M, et al. 2014, Regul Toxicol Pharmacol", "pmid": "24995591" }, { "claim": "Oral rat toxicology, independent group, 13wk, 0/100/200/400mg/kg/day: NO adverse effects at any dose tested; NOAEL 400mg/kg/day.", "source": "Liang C, et al. 2015, Food Chem Toxicol", "pmid": "25445509" }, { "claim": "Rat, INTRAPERITONEAL INJECTION (not oral), 11.5mg/kg/day x 4 days: proximal tubular damage. Different route and a much older, smaller study than the two oral NOAELs above — never cite alone as oral-supplement risk.", "source": "Watanabe A, et al. 1989, Hiroshima J Med Sci", "pmid": "2546903" } ], "products": [ { "brand": "Nutricost", "product": "PQQ 20 mg", "slug": "nutricost-pqq-20mg", "form": "Capsule (generic PQQ disodium)", "mgPerServing": 20, "servings": 60, "price": 17.94, "costPerServing": 0.3, "costPerMg": 0.015, "ingredientTier": "generic-disodium", "pureComparison": true, "thirdParty": "Generic PQQ disodium salt; label states \"3rd party tested\" (a purity claim, not a named branded-raw-material or trial-traceability disclosure)" }, { "brand": "Life Extension", "product": "PQQ Caps 20 mg", "slug": "life-extension-pqq-20mg", "form": "Capsule (BioPQQ)", "mgPerServing": 20, "servings": 30, "price": 20.79, "costPerServing": 0.69, "costPerMg": 0.0347, "ingredientTier": "branded-biopqq", "pureComparison": true, "thirdParty": "BioPQQ™ (Mitsubishi Gas Chemical) branded raw material — the same traceable ingredient used in most of the human PQQ trials cited on this site" }, { "brand": "Jarrow Formulas", "product": "PQQ 20 mg", "slug": "jarrow-pqq-20mg", "form": "Capsule (generic PQQ disodium)", "mgPerServing": 20, "servings": 30, "price": 29.36, "costPerServing": 0.98, "costPerMg": 0.0489, "ingredientTier": "generic-disodium", "pureComparison": true, "thirdParty": "Generic PQQ disodium salt from a reputable manufacturer; the label does not name BioPQQ or another branded raw material" }, { "brand": "NOW Foods", "product": "PQQ Energy", "slug": "now-foods-pqq-energy", "form": "Capsule (BioPQQ + CoQ10 + ALCAR + B12 combo)", "mgPerServing": 20, "servings": 30, "price": 16.83, "costPerServing": 0.56, "costPerMg": 0.0281, "ingredientTier": "combo", "pureComparison": false, "thirdParty": "Combo product: 20mg BioPQQ™ + 30mg CoQ10 + 200mg acetyl-L-carnitine + 1000mcg B12 — NOT a pure PQQ product" } ] }