UBIQUINONE

also called Coenzyme Q, any of several members of a series of organic compounds belonging to a class called quinones. Widely distributed in plants, animals, and microorganisms, ubiquinones function in conjunction with enzymes in cellular respiration (i.e., oxidation-reduction processes). The naturally occurring ubiquinones differ from each other only slightly in chemical structure, depending on the source, the structures resembling those of the fat-soluble vitamin K and certain derivatives of vitamin E.