Ascorbate radical formation

Rowley, D.A. and Halliwell, B. (1983b). Superoxide-dependent and ascorbate-dependent formation of hydroxyl radicals in the presence of copper salts a physiologically significant reaction. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 225, 279-284. 

It has been proposed [91] that nitric dioxide radical formation during the oxidation of nitrite by HRP or lactoperoxidase (LPO) can contribute to tyrosine nitration and be involved in cell and tissue injuries. This proposal was supported in the later work [92] where it has been shown that N02 formed in peroxide-catalyzed reactions is able to enter cells and induce tyrosyl nitration. Reszka et al. [93] demonstrated that N02 mediated the oxidation of biological electron donors and antioxidants (NADH, NADPH, cysteine, glutathione, ascorbate, and Trolox C) catalyzed by lactoperoxidase in the presence of nitrite. 

High antioxidative activity carvedilol has been shown in isolated rat heart mitochondria [297] and in the protection against myocardial injury in postischemic rat hearts [281]. Carvedilol also preserved tissue GSL content and diminished peroxynitrite-induced tissue injury in hypercholesterolemic rabbits [298]. Habon et al. [299] showed that carvedilol significantly decreased the ischemia-reperfusion-stimulated free radical formation and lipid peroxidation in rat hearts. Very small I50 values have been obtained for the metabolite of carvedilol SB 211475 in the iron-ascorbate-initiated lipid peroxidation of brain homogenate (0.28 pmol D1), mouse macrophage-stimulated LDL oxidation (0.043 pmol I 1), the hydroxyl-initiated lipid peroxidation of bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells (0.15 pmol U1), the cell damage measured by LDL release (0.16 pmol l-1), and the promotion of cell survival (0.13 pmol l-1) [300]. SB 211475 also inhibited superoxide production by PMA-stimulated human neutrophils. 

Thus, antioxidant effects of nitrite in cured meats appear to be due to the formation of NO. Kanner et al. (1991) also demonstrated antioxidant effects of NO in systems where reactive hydroxyl radicals ( OH) are produced by the iron-catalyzed decomposition of hydrogen peroxide (Fenton reaction). Hydroxyl radical formation was measured as the rate of benzoate hydtoxylation to salicylic acid. Benzoate hydtoxylation catalyzed by cysteine-Fe +, ascorbate - EDTA-Fe, or Fe was significantly decreased by flushing of the reaction mixture with NO. They proposed that NO liganded to ferrous complexes reacted with H2O2 to form nitrous acid, hydroxyl ion, and ferric iron complexes, preventing generation of hydroxyl radicals. 

Two ascorbate radicals can react with each other in a disproportionation reaction to give ascorbate plus dehydroascorbate. However, most cells can reduce the radicals more directly. In many plants this is accomplished by NADH + H+ using a flavoprotein monodehydroascorbate reductase.0 Animal cells may also utilize NADH or may reduce dehydroascorbate with reduced glutathione.CC/ff Plant cells also contain a very active blue copper ascorbate oxidase (Chapter 16, Section D,5), which catalyzes the opposite reaction, formation of dehydroascorbate. A heme ascorbate oxidase has been purified from a fungus. 11 1 Action of these enzymes initiates an oxidative degradation of ascorbate, perhaps through the pathway of Fig. 20-2. 

Jensen GM, Bunte SW, Warshel A et al (1998) Energetics of cation radical formation at the proximal active site tryptophan of cytochrome c peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase. J Phys Chem B 102 8221-8228... 

At 30°C in the absence of Arg, the ferrous-oxi complex transforms very slowly to the ferric state. In the presence of substrate and H4B, a new species with the 12-nm shifted Sorey band is detected. A decay of this species is accompanied by the formation ofN -hydroxy-L-arginine. Because the presence of HUB is necessary for these reactions, the main function of this compound is to be a reducing agent. This suggestion is supported by experiments on the stabilizing effect of ascorbic acid on the chemical stabilization of tetrahydropterin in the endothelial nitric oxide synthesis (Heller et al., 2001). At the same time, a significant increase in the half lifetime of H4B in solution is demonstrated. As is shown (Wei et al., 2001), a ferrous-dioxy intermediate in iNOS forms for 53 s 1 and then is transformed to the [S-Fe(IV)=0] state. The rate of the [S-Fe(IV)=0] decay is equal to the rate ofH4B radical formation and the rate of Arg hydroxylation. In contrast,... 

Figure 9-24 Prevention of Lipid Free Radical Formation by Ascorbyl Palmitate. Source From M.L. Liao and P.A. Seib, Selected Reactions of L-Ascorbic Acid Related to Foods, Food Tech-nol., Vol. 41, no. 11, pp. 104-107, 1987.

Delocalisation onto oxygen stabilizes radicals considerably. An important example is the ascorbate radical (Scheme 1.3) formed by electron-loss from the ascorbate anion, or electron-capture by dehydroascorbate. This is remarkably stable, and is characterized by an ESR doublet (1.7 G) which is quite distinctive. Because of the high sensitivity of ESR spectroscopy, and the fact that opaque samples can be used, ascorbate radical intermediates have been widely studied (Liu et al., 1988a). The most probable structure is shown in Scheme 1.3 but this is still a matter of some controversy (Liu et al., 1988a). A key factor in the formation of ascorbate radicals is that ascorbate anions... 

It seems likely that the prooxidant actions of ascorbate are of relatively little importance in vivo. Except in cases of iron overload, there are almost no transition metal ions in free solution. They are all bound to proteins, and because the renal transport system is readily saturated, plasma and tissue concentrations of ascorbate are unlikely to rise to a sufficient extent to lead to radical formation (Halliwell, 1996 Carr and Frei, 1999a). 

The chemistry of ascorbic acid free radicals is reviewed. Particular emphasis is placed on identification and charac-terization of ascorbate radicals by spectrophotometric and electron paramagnetic resonance techniques, the kinetics of formation and disappearance of ascorbate free radicals in enzymatic and nonenzymatic reactions, the effect of pH upon the spectral and kinetic properties of ascorbate anion radical, and chemical reactivity of ascorbate free radicals. 

In basic solutions ascorbate is apparently oxidized preferentially by the electron transfer process, which goes to completion in less than 2 fts after termination of the electron pulse (see Structure I). In nitrous-oxide-saturated acid solutions (pH 3.0-4.5), A and two other species which were shown to be OH-radical adducts were observed (37), thus confirming earlier observations (18,19,23, 25). The ascorbate radical anion was identified by its doublet of triplets spectrum that maintains its line position from pH 13 to 1. One OH-radical adduct (IV) shows a doublet, the lines of which start to shift below pH 3.0 it has a pK near 2.0, a decay period of about 100 fxs, and probably does not lead to formation of A". The other OH-radical adduct (II) is formed by addition of the OH radical to the C2 position its ESR parameters are = 24.4 0.0002 G and g == 2.0031 0.0002. Time growth studies suggest that this radical adduct converts to the ascorbate anion radical (III) with r 15 fxs, and accounts for 50% of the A signal intensity 40 fxS after termination of the electron pulse. The formation of the three radicals can be summarized as shown in Scheme 1. 

Ascorbic acid is a strong two-electron reducing agent that is readily oxidized in one-electron steps by metal ions and metal complexes in their higher valence states. An inner sphere mechanism for the stoichiometric oxidation of ascorbic acid by ferric ion in acid solution is illustrated by Scheme 1(8). The first step in the reaction is the formation of a monoprotonated Fe(III) complex similar to the monoprotonated ascorbate complexes listed in Table I. The intermediate monoprotonated Fe(III) complex is short-lived and rapidly undergoes an intramolecular one-electron transfer to give a deprotonated Fe(II) complex of the ascorbate radical anion, indicated by 7. This complex dissociates to the free radical anion, which may then combine with a second ferric ion to form the complex 9. Complex 9 in turn undergoes a second intramolecular electron... 

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