The biomolecule ubiquinone exerts a variety of biological functions

The chemistry of ubiquinone allows reversible addition of single electrons and protons. This unique property is used in nature for aerobic energy gain, for unilateral proton accumulation, for the generation of reactive oxygen species involved in physiological signaling and a variety of pathophysiological events. Since several years ubiquinone is also considered to play a major role in the control of lipid peroxidation, since this lipophilic biomolecule was recognized to recycle alpha-tocopherol radicals back to the chain-breaking form, vitamin E. Ubiquinone is therefore a biomolecule which has increasingly focused the interest of many research groups due to its alternative pro- and antioxidant activity. We have intensively investigated the role of ubiquinone as prooxidant in mitochondria and will present experimental evidences on conditions required for this function, we will also show that lysosomal ubiquinone has a double function as proton translocator and radical source under certain metabolic conditions. Furthermore, we have addressed the antioxidant role of ubiquinone and found that the efficiency of this activity is widely dependent on the type of biomembrane where ubiquinone exerts its chain-breaking activity.