Alcohol depletes coenzyme-Q10 associated with increased TNF-alpha secretion to induce cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells

► Ethanol induced cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells in absence of lipogenesis. ► Ethanol inhibited HMG-CoA reductase activity. ► Ethanol induced HMG-CoA reductase inhibition is due to decreased cell viability. ► Incubation with mevalonate could not increase the cholesterol. ► Cytotoxicity brought about by CoQ10 depletion and increased TNF-alpha.