Dr. D. Y. Patil University, Pimpri, Pune-411018, India.
Mini Rev Med Chem. 2010 May;10(5):436-54. doi: 10.2174/138955710791330909.
Benzoquinones are class of natural quinones found chiefly in higher plants, fungi, bacteria and animal kingdom. They are involved in important biological functions such as bioenergetic transport, oxidative phosphorylation and electron transport processes. In recent years it has become increasingly clear that some of them possess potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities. There is clearly a common thread running through these activities and there have been a large number of studies carried out to unravel the mechanisms of these activities. In the present review we have provided a brief account of these studies especially covering these aspects. Although antioxidant potentials of these compounds constitute the basis of their biological activities its nature and scope is dictated by many microscopic biological environments. One of the important advantages offered by these compounds is the ease with which they can be synthesized and chemically manipulated. This can easily provide impetus for further research in developing some potentially useful drug molecules.
苯醌类化合物是一类天然醌类化合物，主要存在于高等植物、真菌、细菌和动物界。它们参与重要的生物功能，如生物能量运输、氧化磷酸化和电子传递过程。近年来，越来越明显的是，其中一些具有强大的抗氧化、抗炎和抗癌活性。这些活性之间显然存在一条共同的线索，并且已经进行了大量的研究来揭示这些活性的机制。在本综述中，我们提供了这些研究的简要说明，特别是涵盖了这些方面。尽管这些化合物的抗氧化潜力构成了它们生物活性的基础，但它的性质和范围受到许多微观生物环境的影响。这些化合物的一个重要优点是它们易于合成和化学修饰。这可以为进一步研究开发一些潜在有用的药物分子提供动力。
