Chemical subclass
Code:
QU
Name:
Quinones
Chemical class:
Comment:
The quinone pigment are widely albeit sporadically, distributed in higher plants, they contribute little to plant colour. Thus, they are either present hidden in bark, heartwood or root or else they are in tissues where their colours are masked by other pigments. Quinones all contain the same basic chromophore, that of benzoquinone itself, which consists of two carbonyl groups in conjugation with two carbon-carbon double bonds. Quinones can be conveniently divided into three groups of increasing molecular size: the benzoquinones, the naphthoquinones and the anthraquinones.