Hydroxyquinol

Hydroxyquinol is a benzenetriol.

Production

Hydroxyquinol is produced by various means of degradation. Historically hydroxyquinol was produced by the action of potassium hydroxide on hydroquinone. Today the chemical is more conveniently synthesized by dehydrating D-fructose with supercritical water:

Natural Occurrence

Hydroxyquinol commonly occurs in nature as a biodegradation product of catechin, a natural phenol found in plants such as Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Hydroxyquinol is also a metabolite in some organisms. For instance, Hydroxyquinol 1,2-dioxygenase is an enzyme that uses hydroxyquinol as a substrate with oxygen to produce 3-hydroxy-cis,cis-muconate.

References