Carotenoid oxidative cleavage products

Eleven apo-carotenoids (1-11), including five new compounds, 4, 6, 9,10 and 11, were isolated from the fruits of the red paprika collected from Japan by Maoka et al. (2001b). The structures of new apocarotenoids were determined to be apo-14 -zeaxanthinal (4), apo-13-zeaxanthinone (6), apo-12 -capsorubinal (9), apo-8 -capsorubinal (10) and 9,9 -diapo-10,9 -retro-carotene-9,9 -dione (11) by spectroscopic analysis. The other six known apocarotenoids were identified to be apo-8 -zeaxanthinal (1), apo-lO -zeaxanthinal (2), apo-12 -zeaxan-thinal (3), apo-15-zeaxanthinal (5), apo-11-zeaxanthinal (7) and apo-9-zeaxanthinone (8), which had not been found previously in paprika. These apocarotenoids were assumed to be oxidative cleavage products of C40 carotenoid, such as capsanthin in paprika. 

As described in the preceding paragraphs, oxidation products of carotenoids can be formed in vitro as a result of their antioxidant or prooxidant actions or after their autoxidation by molecular oxygen. They can also be found in nature, possibly as metabolites of carotenoids. Frequently encountered products are the monoepoxide in 5,6- or 5, 6 -positions and the diepoxide in 5,6 5, 6 positions or rearrangement products creating furanoid cycles in the 5,8 or 5, 8 positions and 5,8 5, 8 positions, respectively. Products like apo-carotenals and apo-carotenones issued from oxidative cleavages are also common oxidation products of carotenoids also found in nature. When the fission occurs on a cyclic bond, the C-40 carbon skeleton is retained and the products are called seco-carotenoids. 

Carotenoid oxidation products are also supposed to have detrimental effects in vivo. As mentioned earlier, they are suspected to be involved in the adverse effects of high doses of 3-carotene supplementation in smokers and asbestos workers (CARET and ATBC studies) and in smoke-exposed ferrets. The mechanisms potentially involved have been investigated in vitro. P-Apo-8 -carotenal, an eccennic cleavage oxidation product of P-carotene, was shown to be a strong inducer of CYPlAl in rats, whereas P-carotene was not active. Cytochrome P450 (CYP 450) enzymes thus induced could enhance the activation of carcinogens and the destruction of retinoic acid. ... 

Another study showed that a mixture of oxidative metabolites of P-carotene, but not P-carotene, was able to increase the binding of benzo[a]pyrene to DNA. Other mixtures of P-carotene cleavage products have been shown to induce oxidative stress in vitro,exert cytotoxic and genotoxic effects, and inhibit gap junction intercellular communications. It has been suggested that these detrimental effects could possibly occur in vivo following the intake of high doses of carotenoids. 

The ozonolysis of carotenoids was employed in order to obtain oxygenated cleavage products for biological tests, for example, for lycopene. In this case, among a series of products, one product formed by a double oxidative cleavage was purified and characterized as ( , ,/ )- 4 - methyl - 8 -oxo-2,4,6-nonatrienal, and it was shown to be active in the induction of apoptosis in HL-60 cells (Zhang et al. 2003). 

Carotenoid catabolic products also have a physiological role in the plant. Oxidative cleavage of carotenoids by carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs) generates apocarotenoids [21]. Apocarotenoids serve the plant as antifungal agents or in the synthesis of flavor or aroma of flowers and fruits. A well-known downstream product of an apocarotenoid is abscisic acid (ABA), a phytohormone in plants [21]. 

Vitamin Ai (retinol) is derived in mammals by oxidative metabolism of plant-derived dietary carotenoids in the liver, especially -carotene. Green vegetables and rich plant sources such as carrots help to provide us with adequate levels. Oxidative cleavage of the central double bond of -carotene provides two molecules of the aldehyde retinal, which is subsequently reduced to the alcohol retinol. Vitamin Ai is also found in a number of foodstuffs of animal origin, especially eggs and dairy products. Some structurally related compounds, including retinal, are also included in the A group of vitamins. 

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