Hydroxyquinol

Production

Hydroxyquinol is produced by various means of degradation. Historically hydroxyquinol was produced by the action of potassium hydroxide on hydroquinone. Today the chemical is more conveniently synthesized by dehydrating fructose with supercritical water:

Natural Occurrence

Hydroxyquinol commonly occurs in nature as a biodegradation product of catechin, a natural phenol found in plants such as Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Hydroxyquinol is also a metabolite in some organisms. For instance, Hydroxyquinol 1,2-dioxygenase is an enzyme that uses hydroxyquinol as a substrate with oxygen to produce 3-hydroxy-cis,cis-muconate.