Synthesis and antioxidant activities of Coenzyme Q analogues

•We developed a facile procedure for the synthesis of Coenzyme Q analogues.•All Coenzyme Q analogues show good antioxidant activities.•Compound 8b showed more potent inhibition of DPPH radical than Coenzyme Q10.•Preliminary structure-antioxidant activity of CoQ analogues was investigated.

A series of 2,3-dimethoxy-5-methyl-1,4-benzoquinones (Coenzyme Q) substituted at the C-6 position with various groups were designed and synthesized based on the Coenzyme Q10 as potent antioxidant. In vitro antioxidant activities of these compounds were evaluated and compared with commercial antioxidant Coenzyme Q10 employing DPPH assay. All these synthesized Coenzyme Q analogues are found to exhibit good antioxidant activities. Of which Compound 8b bearing a N-benzoylpiperazine group at the C-6 position showed more potent inhibition of DPPH radical than Coenzyme Q10. All these results suggested the applicability of the Coenzyme Q analogues as potent antioxidants for combating oxidative stress.

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