Introducing Q
The most interesting molecule you've never heard of.
Queuine (pronounced cue-een) is a micronutrient used by all plants and animals, but produced exclusively by bacteria. Although it was discovered in the 1960s, its importance in human health is only now being recognized.
Queuine plays a crucial role in helping your body translate the genetic code into proteins and enzymes, leading National Medal of Science winner Bruce Ames to describe it as a potential "longevity vitamin". Here at Professor Q's, we believe everyone could use a little extra "Q" in their lives—which is why we test and certify the queuine content of all our products with the help of an ivy league university's analytical lab.
Check out our products below!
Why Q?
We founded Professor Q's Queuine Foods with a singular mission: to bring our customers high-quality foods that provide this important but neglected micronutrient.
"Q" & A
How does queuine work?
Once absorbed, your body converts queuine into queuosine by attaching it to certain tRNAs—the molecules that do the work of reading genetic code (mRNA) and turning it into proteins.
Queuosine helps these tRNAs read the mRNA quickly and efficiently. In healthy animals, nearly 100% of certain tRNAs have a queuosine modification in them, but in animals with disrupted gut bacteria and little or no queuine in the diet, these tRNAs remain unmodified, causing protein translation to slow and falter.
How much queuine do I need in my diet?
The answer to that likely depends on your gut microbiome: animals on a queuine-free diet, but with healthy gut bacteria, don't show signs of deficiency, because the microbiome produces salvageable queuine from the food we eat. However, not all species of bacteria produce queuine—and many pathogens even snatch it up from their environment. At present, there are no FDA guidelines on how much queuine is necessary for health.
What does a queuine deficiency look like?
In animal and cell culture experiments, queuine deficiency causes increased oxidation of tetrahydrobiopterin—which is the cofactor for enzymes like nitric oxide synthase, tryptophan hydroxylase, and tyrosine hydroxylase. When too much tetrahydrobiopterin inside your cells is oxidized, these enzymes can't function optimally. Nitric oxide synthase plays an important role in maintaining cardiovascular and immune health, while tryptophan hydroxylase and tyrosine hydroxylase are essential for producing the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine—part of why we're so keen on "Q"!
Where can I learn more?
While it hasn't gotten much press, queuine has been the subject of scientific study for many years now. We'd recommend:
Questions? Reach out!
