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A Molecule Named for Its Rings
Pyrroloquinoline quinone takes its name from its structure: a stack of three ring systems, one after another. A look at what pyrroloquinoline quinone is, how it was named, where it was first found, and the forms it takes.
Its name reads like a set of directions through its own structure: pyrrole, quinoline, quinone, three rings in sequence.
Pyrroloquinoline quinone, usually shortened to PQQ, is a small quinone compound first identified in bacteria. What follows is the story of the molecule and its name: what it is, where it was found, and the forms it takes.
A molecule, named for its rings
Pyrroloquinoline quinone is a small organic compound, and its name is really a description of its shape. The name stacks three pieces of chemistry in a row: pyrrole, a small ring; quinoline, a fused ring system; and quinone, a ring that carries a pair of carbonyl groups.
Read that way, the name is a map of the molecule. It is usually shortened, mercifully, to PQQ. As a pure compound it is a deep reddish-amber solid, and it was first identified in certain bacteria several decades ago.
This piece follows the molecule and its name: what pyrroloquinoline quinone is, where it was first found, and the forms it takes, set within the wider study of how the body sustains itself across time.
The name
Three rings, in sequence
Pyrrole, quinoline, quinone: the name sets down the three ring systems of the molecule, one after another.
The molecule
Pyrroloquinoline quinone, in brief
A few of the plain facts about the molecule and its name.
The Name
The name stacks three ring systems: pyrrole, quinoline, and quinone.
A Quinone
It belongs to the quinones, a class of colored organic compounds.
First Found in Bacteria
It was first identified in certain bacteria several decades ago.
Its Forms
It appears as the free acid and as a disodium salt, usually shortened to PQQ.
The rings
Named, ring by ring
Each part of the name marks a ring: the pyrrole, the quinoline, and the quinone that give the molecule its shape.
Ring by ring
The name, ring by ring
The parts the name is built from, described by their chemistry, not their use.
Pyrrole
- Chemistry
- A five-membered ring holding one nitrogen
- In the name
- The "pyrrolo" at the front
- Noted for
- The smallest of the three rings.
Quinoline
- Chemistry
- A fused, double-ring system
- In the name
- The "quinoline" in the middle
- Noted for
- The core the others attach to.
Quinone
- Chemistry
- A ring carrying two carbonyl groups
- In the name
- The "quinone" at the end
- Noted for
- The part that lends the color.
The Whole
- Chemistry
- The three fused into one small compound
- In the name
- Pyrroloquinoline quinone, or PQQ
- Noted for
- The complete molecule the name describes.
The molecule
A single molecule
Beneath the long name and its three rings sits one small compound, a deep reddish-amber solid named for its own shape.
Up close
The molecule, in detail
Pyrroloquinoline quinone as a pure crystalline solid.
Three rings, set down one after another.
The free acid and the disodium salt.
The molecule, one by one
Pyrroloquinoline quinone, one by one
The plain facts about the molecule and its name, ring by ring:
In the literature
A much-studied molecule
Pyrroloquinoline quinone, the quinone named for its three rings and first found in bacteria, has been examined widely across the scientific literature. The discussion is broad and ongoing, and much of it remains open rather than settled.
This article is provided for educational and informational purposes only and has been reviewed against FDA and FTC guidelines to ensure it does not make any health, disease, or treatment claim. Any research or studies referenced were conducted independently and did not involve Codeage products; no Codeage product has been used in any study or to establish, prove, or imply any benefit. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Codeage products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
The name
A molecule, and its name
Pyrroloquinoline quinone is, in the end, a small compound with a long and literal name: three rings, set down in the order they appear. It is one molecule among many found in the living world, described here by its chemistry and its history alone.
A small quinone named for its own shape: pyrrole, quinoline, quinone.
In closing
Named for its rings
Read from front to back, pyrroloquinoline quinone is a molecule that spells out its own structure: pyrrole, quinoline, and quinone, three rings fused into one small reddish-amber compound, first found in bacteria and usually shortened to PQQ.
None of it is a secret, and none of it is a promise. It is simply what the molecule is, and where its name comes from, one small compound set within the wider story of how the body sustains itself across time.
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