Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin
Online ISSN : 1347-5223
Print ISSN : 0009-2363
ISSN-L : 0009-2363
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Importance of Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer from Natural Phenolic Compounds in Superoxide Scavenging
Tatsushi NakayamaBunji Uno
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2015 Volume 63 Issue 12 Pages 967-973

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Abstract

The superoxide O2·− scavenging reaction of (+)-catechin (Cat), quercetin (Que), rutin, and α-tocopherol (α-TOH) as natural phenolic compounds is investigated on the basis of electrochemical and ESR spectral measurements with the aid of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Reversibility of the O2/O2·− redox couple is significantly affected by the presence of the phenolic compounds. The catechol moiety of Cat, Que, and rutin plays an essential role in concerted proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) to HO2· derived from O2·− to give H2O2 and the corresponding o-benzoquinone radical anions. On the other hand, the presence of α-TOH causes sequential electron and proton transfers to HO2· to give H2O2 and the α-tocopheroxyl radical. These electron transfers in the presence of the phenolic compounds are inferred from the ESR spectral measurements. The DFT calculation results suggest that the O2·− scavenging reaction of the natural phenolic compounds proceeds efficiently with the one-step concerted PCET or sequential PCET mechanism.

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© 2015 The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan
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