Description
Poise=A state of balance. Redox poise in electron transport occurs when each electron-carrying intermediate is present in both its oxidized state and its reduced state, in order for that component both to accept and to donate electrons or hydrogen atoms. Redox poise is likely to be essential in the Q-cycle, where the plastosemiquinone participates in one-electron transfer with cytochrome b, despite its tendency to transfer its single electron to oxygen, generating superoxide. When applied to noncyclic electron transport, redox poise indicates a position of optimal redox state where the activity of components are such that their effective redox potentials favor physiologically useful electron transfer.
Reference: Allen 2004 Encyclopedia of Biol Chem, Moore 1988 FEBS Letters