Plastoquinone
Plastoquinone (PQ) is a quinone molecule involved in the electron transport chain in the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis. Plastoquinone is reduced when it accepts two electrons from photosystem II and two hydrogen cations (H+) from the stromal matrix of the chloroplast), thereby forming plastoquinol. It transports the protons into the lumen of thylakoid discs, while the electrons continue further along the electron transport chain, into the cytochrome b6f protein complex.
The prefix plasto- means either plastid or chloroplast, alluding to its location within the cell.
Structurally it is a 2,3-dimethyl-1,4-benzoquinone molecule with a side chain of nine isoprenyl units.
Derivatives
Some derivatives designed to penetrate cell membranes (SkQ1 (plastoquinonyl-decyl-triphenylphosphonium), SkQR1 (the rhodamine-containing analog of SkQ1), SkQ3) have anti-oxidant and protonophore activity.
SkQ1 is proposed as an anti-aging treatment.
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