What is "malonate"

malonate \mal"o*nate\, a. (Chem.) A salt of malonic acid.

n. (context organic chemistry English) Any salt or ester of malonic acid

The malonate or propanedioate ion is C H(C OO) ( malonic acid minus two hydrogen ions). Malonate compounds include salts and esters of malonic acid, such as

• diethyl malonate, (CH)(CHO),
• dimethyl malonate, (CH)(CHO),
• disodium malonate, Na(CHO).

Malonate is a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme succinate dehydrogenase: malonate binds to the active site of the enzyme without reacting, and so competes with succinate, the usual substrate of the enzyme. The observation that malonate is a competitive inhibitor of succinate dehydrogenase was used to deduce the structure of the active site in that enzyme.The chemical malonate decreases cellular respiration. It resembles the substrate succinate, without a -CH2-CH2 group required for dehydrogenation.